


Persistence of Memory

by onthedriftinthetardis (on_the_drift)



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bad Wolf Implied, Custard Creams, Eventual Smut, F/F, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Indricotherium, Meddling TARDIS, Mutual Pining, Pandemic - Freeform, Prehistoric Wildlife, Regeneration (Doctor Who), Slow Burn, Temporary Amnesia, Trips to the Past, Universe Alteration, natural history museum, trips down memory lane, trips to the future, very brief mentions of F/M sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-08-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:09:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 27,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25964143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/on_the_drift/pseuds/onthedriftinthetardis
Summary: A strange virus has taken hold on Ehru, and the Doctor is on the hunt for a cure that takes her to the British Museum of Natural History, in search of the key to the last ingredient. There, she meets a mysterious young woman named Rose Tyler running from a museum guard, and offers her the field trip of a lifetime. They travel millions of years into the past to find the source of the ancient ginkgo the Doctor needs for her cure. While gathering leaves, they encounter a gentle giant, the largest mammal ever to walk the Earth. But other, less friendly and more dangerous creatures lurk nearby, and one of them attacks, looking for an easy meal. The Doctor saves Rose's life, but the young woman is guarding a secret that will change the Doctor's life.
Relationships: The Doctor (Doctor Who)/Rose Tyler, Thirteenth Doctor/Rose Tyler
Comments: 111
Kudos: 58





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to my amazing beta readers skyler10 and chiaroscuroverse! And thanks to skyler10 and joifuldreaming for the cheerleading, hand-holding, and listening to me GO ON about this thing for literally YEARS, and for being the best pocket friends I could ever hope for. <3
> 
> I was extremely lucky to work with two talented artists: jemsauce, whose cover art inspired me to keep writing, and nowrunalong, who I met through the WIP Big Bang, and whose art was the carrot that got this story across the finish line; you'll find excerpts of her wonderful work within the story. Besides being artistic af, they're both lovely people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nowrunalong created some gorgeous art for this fic, pieces of which appear throughout the story. [Check out the finished artwork here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25942453) when you finish the story!

## Prologue

He awoke in a Victorian armchair, and looked around him, but everything was strange and new. Where was he? _Who_ was he? All he could remember was that he was called the Doctor. There was a word for this… What was it? Amnesia? He stumbled through this odd place, pulsing with mauve lights, drawn to the central area of the huge chamber in which he now found himself. He was starting to remember who he was … and that this place was called the TARDIS. No, not a place — an entity! She was communicating images to his mind of the console in the center of the room. He passed a mirror, and something caught his eye; he was unexpectedly shorter than he should be. 

He slowly turned to look, expecting long waves of auburn hair, a handsome visage, and a velvet coat topped by a silk cravat — but instead, hazel eyes gazed out of a beautiful face framed by blonde hair, and _she_ was wearing a black hoodie with embroidered stars. She gasped and clasped her face in her hands, checking to be sure it was really her in the mirror. 

"Blimey, I'm a woman! That's new," she said to herself, testing out her voice and new Yorkshire accent. The last thing she remembered, he'd said goodbye to Grace Holloway, then put the TARDIS into the Vortex and gone back to reading H.G. Wells' Time Machine — what had happened to make him regenerate again so soon? 

She stumbled up the short flight of stairs to the console, and frowned at the panel in front of her. "Ehru? Never heard of it. And I'm an awfully long way from San Francisco." The TARDIS helpfully suggested that she try the outer doors, so she felt in her pockets for her sonic screwdriver and walked over to the double doors that led to … well, whatever was out there. Taking a deep breath for courage, she pulled one door open. 

## Chapter One

A fierce west wind blew through the streets of London, rustling the brown and orange leaves still clinging to the trees and swirling the remnants of the newsagents’ morning papers into the sky. Droves of businessmen in suits with wide lapels strode along the streets of South Kensington among women wearing skirts and dresses in an autumnal palette. Groups of children flocked around their teachers, a riot of color and energy outside the Victoria and Albert Museum.

A young blonde woman hurried along the Cromwell Road with her companion, a handsome man with immaculately coiffed brown hair, perhaps in his early thirties. The woman drew her unusually styled black leather jacket close around her, the plain broadcloth shirt beneath offering scant protection from the chilly breeze. The man let his leather jacket hang open, seemingly oblivious to the cold. Pausing, he surreptitiously withdrew a small electronic device from his jacket, consulted it, then stuffed it back in his pocket.

He said something that made her smile, and in an instant, she transformed from fanciable to unforgettable. She was the sort of woman you would expect her perfectly proportioned companion to be involved with, but her manner and carefully maintained distance from him suggested otherwise. 

The terribly English masses let their gaze linger on the pair longer than politeness would dictate, partly because of their odd dress, but mostly because the two of them had such a sense of purpose that the crowd parted before them: some ineffable combination of charisma and strength of will that was tangible. 

The pair strode through the iron gates and climbed the wide terracotta steps of the British Museum of Natural History. They squeezed past a group of tourists gawking at the ornate archway and entered through the east door. They walked past throngs of uniformed school children peering at case after case of plants, animals, rocks and fossils in the entry hall and talking excitedly amongst themselves. Some of them were enthralled by the exhibits, but most of them seemed happy to be out of the classroom, and able to talk to their friends without fear of adult retribution.

The children were chaperoned by men in polyester suits and women in loudly patterned shirts and skirts or bell-bottomed trousers. A few of the teachers and some of the parents were preoccupied with looking at the exhibits while the more dedicated among them herded wayward children back towards their classmates. 

The perfectly proportioned man again carefully withdrew and glanced at his device, and looking at his companion, nodded towards the stairs at the end of the vaulted hall. They walked past an enormous African elephant on a plinth that was surrounded by awed visitors, and ascended the stairs. 

They passed a bronze statue of a severe-looking man in a skullcap holding a dinosaur bone, climbed up the steps to the right, and went through the door at the top. 

They walked past huge fossil skeletons of ancient marine reptiles mounted on the walls along the hallway: ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs and more; and stopped just beyond a massive skeleton of a giant ground sloth labeled “Extinct Mammal.” Just to one side at the end of the hall was a small mahogany door. The man checked his device once again and nodded towards the door. 

“You're on lookout. I'll get the door.” he said, already reaching into his pocket for a lock pick. He was American. 

“All right,” the woman reluctantly agreed, her Estuary English accent seemingly far more in keeping with their surroundings. She lightly ran back to the start of the marine reptile section to keep an eye down the long hall. To her surprise, three seconds later, the man quietly called to her that the door was open. 

“That was fast,” she said, trying not to be impressed.

He grinned. “Stellar work, if I do say so myself. I don’t suppose that means you’ll reconsider my offer?” he said, oozing charm. 

“Sorry,” she smirked. “Nice try, though.”

He pocketed his lock pick. “Well, it’s such an old-fashioned lock, a monkey could open it with a banana,” he admitted.

“Ha!” She laughed. “Javik Thane, the galaxy’s greatest Time Agent!”

“And here I thought you were a nice girl, Rose,” he mock-scolded.

The sound of a mass of chattering children approaching spurred them both into action. He opened the door and held it for her, and she ran to it and ducked inside. He followed, closing the door behind him. They descended a long flight of stairs, emerging into a huge, high-ceilinged room with large windows that overlooked the lawn in front of the museum. Wooden cabinets lined the entirety of one long side, banks and banks of them stretching out before them.

Javik once again consulted his device, this time shrugging, and nodded towards the far side of the room. Quietly now, they began to make their way towards the end, glancing into every open office as they passed, each within a deep vault and with its own segmented half-moon window above an array of panes made with the same leaded glass. About half of the mahogany doors were closed. Each office had a typewriter, a microscope, and a number of fossil specimens spread out on the table at the far end, and drawers of additional fossils spread out on two tables set lengthwise in the middle. The tables were invariably strewn with stacks of heavy, hardbound books in between the jumble of prehistoric leaves, bones, shells, or other fossils. More books, journals, and miscellaneous publications lined the bookcases to either side of each table. 

One office had a young paleontologist in it who was so absorbed in studying his trilobites under a microscope that he didn’t seem to notice two strangers wandering about in his domain. Outside his office were several stuffed elephants and giraffes, looking slightly moth-eaten. Both of the intruders held their breath as they continued their way through the long room. Two bearded curators looked up briefly from their work with vaguely puzzled expressions before returning to their studies. 

A guard suddenly appeared in the dim light at the far end of the room, heading straight for them. Rose gripped her companion’s arm and they continued to move forward. Hearts drumming so loudly they were both sure the sound would give them away, they continued to walk towards him, but before they had even reached the next office, the guard stopped and stared at them.

“Oi!” he shouted, “Hold it right there!” 

They faltered, and the guard strode towards them purposefully.

They turned and looked at each other in alarm. 

“Run!” they both said at the same time, and sprinted back towards the stairs at full tilt. The sound of hard leather soles pounding after them seemed to get closer, then receded slightly as they gained ground on their pursuer. As they approached the stairs, Rose saw another corridor heading off to the left, and cried out, “Split up!”

Javik bounded up the stairs ahead, while she ran down the corridor, hoping for an exit. The guard behind them cursed, then headed up the stairs after the young man.

Rose raced past huge fossil bones and plaster casts on enormous shelving units that stretched on almost as far as the eye could see in the dim light. Keeping up her pace out of nerves even though she realized the guard was no longer in pursuit, she headed towards the light emanating from a small doorway at the end of the corridor, trying in vain to slow down as she ducked inside. She barrelled into the surprisingly solid occupant of the tiny room, and strong arms grabbed her just as the latticed ironwork door slid shut behind her with a clang.


	2. Chapter 2

## Chapter Two

Rose tried to catch her breath, but it was stolen away again as the ironwork-caged room began to rise, giving her the odd sensation of hurtling up through solid walls. She relaxed a bit as she realized she was in an old-fashioned lift, but when she drew back and looked at the person she had run into (with the intention of apologizing), she nearly stopped breathing altogether. 

The blonde woman looking back at her in bemusement was stunning in a way that went beyond conventional beauty. This woman had presence and charm; she smiled, and loosened her grip on Rose, holding her by the shoulders. 

Rose felt the shock of a thrill pass through her that the woman hadn't let go of her yet. She hoped she wasn't blushing. 

“Hello, I'm the Doctor,” the woman said, her accent recalling a school trip Rose had once taken to the Peak District. “What's your name?” 

Rose looked off at the side of the lift, quickly adopting the neutral expression she'd learned on the estate growing up, for when she and her mates had been caught doing something forbidden. But then she looked back at the Doctor and smiled tentatively. 

“Rose. Rose Tyler.”

The Doctor grinned back, finally letting go of her, to Rose's disappointment. “The exhibit halls are up a flight of stairs through a locked door. Not lost, are you, Rose?” 

Rose's blank look gradually gave way to a grin. “Not anymore. Nice running into you, Doctor…?”

“Just the Doctor.” 

"You don't have an identity badge, so I suppose you don't work here, either. You're not lost, are you, Doctor?"

The woman beamed at her as if she’d scored a point. "Cheeky. No, not lost." Then she cocked her head and looked at Rose thoughtfully. 

Rose had the feeling that she was being evaluated. She straightened up unconsciously and raised her chin, as if challenging the woman to find her wanting.

“I could use another pair of hands, actually. Fancy going on a field trip, Rose Tyler?”

Rose paused. “I shouldn’t leave my friend to face the music on his own.” she said reluctantly, nodding towards the lift door.

“Oh, he’ll be fine. They’ll just throw him out of the museum for the day. Well, probably the week. Welllll, he might need a disguise to get back in for a while. A fake mustache, or ooh, maybe a goatee! So, what do you say?”

"To the fake mustache, or the goatee?" said Rose, momentarily confused by the Doctor's rambling. 

"You could come with me. You know. If you want."

“I’m game if you are,” Rose smiled, and the Doctor grinned at her. 

“Ah, here we are,” the Doctor said, reaching into the pocket of her hoodie, a black sweatshirt with embroidered stars, withdrawing a hand-held device that looked like a cross between a twig and the tricorder from Star Trek. “Sonic screwdriver,” she enthused. “Does everything from unlocking doors to mending injuries. Which happens rather a lot around me, actually,” she continued ruefully. The lift came to a stop, and the Doctor aimed the device at the locking mechanism on the ironwork door. She pressed a button on the sonic with her thumb and the tip lit up bright blue as it emitted a high-pitched whirring sound. The door unlocked with a low thunk. The Doctor slid the door open and swiftly exited the lift.

Rose hurried after her through the small door, which opened up onto the top floor landing of the museum’s entrance hall. They emerged into a buzzing murmur of low conversations and excited shouts below from children who had spotted a favorite animal, or encountered something novel. 

The Doctor and Rose passed an enormous cross-section of a giant sequoia tree, propped up against the rear wall and overlaid with labels pointing to several of its rings, giving the dates of various historical events that coincided with the age of each ring. The Doctor came to an abrupt halt in front of it, and Rose nearly ran into her again.

“Oooh, I remember that. That was a nasty business with the masses in Blackpool.” The Doctor nodded towards the top of the timeline. Rose stopped to read the text she had indicated, which proclaimed that the great comet was seen across the world on 2 February, 1106. Before Rose could ask what she was talking about, she had taken off again at a great clip towards the far side of the hall. Rose ran after her.

They came to a stop in front of another dark wood door, and the Doctor quickly unlocked it and pocketed her sonic. She opened the door and went through, and Rose followed, closing the door behind her. They were in a long, airy hall, illuminated by skylights in the roof, and lined on both sides by polished oak cabinets. Tables set lengthwise in the middle of the room were covered with folders, some of which were open, revealing weeds and flowers, leaves and seeds. 

The Doctor quickly scooped up one of the closed folders and strode through the hall with purpose, and Rose hastened to keep up with her. The room was broken up by aisles perpendicular to the long hall, each of which had a windowed niche at its terminus. The niches, similar to the offices in the basement, were occupied by desks piled high with an assortment of books, papers and monographs surrounding ancient black Underwood typewriters, and in a few instances, botanists, hard at work. 

The Doctor suddenly ducked into one of the niches, stopping in front of a highly incongruous deep blue police box. She withdrew a strange, spade-shaped key from her pocket this time, unlocked the door, and held it open with an expectant grin.

“After you,” she said, gesturing for her to go inside. 

Rose stopped dead in the doorway. She pushed her hair out of her face and gaped at her surroundings, wide-eyed, trying to look everywhere at once.

The space was dominated by deep blue light emanating from six steel, hole-punched girders arching over the central, hexagonal console. A transparent cylinder arose from the console with eight blue rods on the top and bottom, each. The console stairs led down to tables filled with books, a sextant, a bust of some dusty old philosopher, and a 19th century globe. The outer ring beyond the console stairs was hardwood paneled and dotted here and there with Persian rugs. Lamps and candelabras illuminated floor-to-ceiling bookcases, a wooden bureau with a hundred or more large drawers and a circular mirror. 

On the other side, a Tiffany lamp and comfortable looking armchair with an ottoman were dwarfed by the huge bookcase to their right, and in apparent danger of invasion from the table overflowing with yet more books to their left. Rose took a step towards the back door, which was flanked by two bronze statues, and had a huge brass symbol over the lintel that looked like a Celtic artist had designed the Arabic number eight. 

Just then, a deeply annoyed male voice came from behind them. 

“Excuse me, but what do you think you’re doing? And what on Earth is a police box doing in here?”

Both women glanced behind them to see a rumpled-looking middle-aged man in a button-down shirt and corduroys glaring at them. 

“Get in!” the Doctor hissed in the younger woman's ear, and Rose felt a hand on her back propelling her inside and towards the central column. She heard the door slam shut behind them as they ran up the stairs, and she threw her hands forward to stop herself as she reached the console. Heart pounding, she turned around to see the other woman set down the envelope on the console, slide her hands in her trouser pockets and grin at her. 

The Doctor beamed fondly around the chamber and then looked at Rose expectantly.

The young woman looked all around her, eyes eventually settling back on the Doctor as she removed her hands from her pockets and gestured broadly with her arms. She grinned. 

“Welcome to the TARDIS, Rose Tyler.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it for tonight, but this story is complete, and I will be posting a chapter a night from now through August 29th. The chapters have been very short so far, but they get longer starting with the next one.
> 
> You can find me on Tumblr as @onthedriftinthetardis - come say hi if you like! :))


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Onward and backward!

## Chapter Three

The console panel facing Rose had a small number of gauges and sliders, and a large lever. But what caught her attention were the seven dials comprising the Humanian Era, Earth, and October 24, 11:07am, 1978. Rose looked up at the Doctor, who was grinning at her shyly, a bit like someone who had showed off a car they had rebuilt by hand, and was waiting for compliments. Rose closed her mouth, then opened it again and found her voice. 

"This is fantastic!" she enthused. 

The Doctor preened, grinning widely, then tilting her head and shrugging as if to say, "Thank you for saying so, but I can't take full credit."

“Sorry, I usually entertain questions at this point, but, well, bit of a hurry,” said the Doctor. “So, YES, the TARDIS is bigger on the inside: transdimensional engineering. Don't worry about it. TARDIS stands for Time and Relative Dimension in Space, because the Time Lords were so awfully pompous. Oh! That's another thing — I'm a Time Lord." 

"She's a time ship as well as a spaceship," the Doctor continued, nodding at the central column, "and we're about to travel in the space-time continuum, otherwise known as the Vortex, to the locality and geological time period named on this fossil's tag,” she said, taking a small plate of sandstone out of her pocket and waving it around before gently but firmly moving Rose out of her way. 

The young woman's hips tingled where the Doctor had set her hands, but Rose did her best to concentrate on what she was saying. 

“I just came from a planet called Ehru, where there's a terrible pandemic on,” she said as she whirled several dials in rapid sequence. “And I've seen something similar before, so I was able to concoct a recipe of sorts for a cure,” the Doctor stepped past Rose. “But I was missing a key ingredient, a variant of a plant that is only found on Earth, as it happens, and only in this one time period,” she continued as she pushed and locked a large lever into position. “I wasn't able to quite remember where and when I'd seen some, so where did I come? The British Museum of Natural History! Best repository of fossils in the world. And I found the fossil I was looking for!”

Rose grinned and gestured towards the small piece of stone in the Doctor's hand. “That's it? The missing ingredient?” 

The Doctor looked delighted and handed the delicate object to her. “Well, this is the fossilized version of the missing ingredient. A species of ginkgo extinct in this time.” Rose examined the fossil and its tag briefly, then handed it back. 

“So this is where we're going? Inner Mongolia? To find some of this extinct tree, yeah?”

The Doctor grinned at her, practically vibrating with excitement. She threw her arms open, and Rose leaned forward in anticipation. But instead of hugging her, the Doctor stepped backwards and spun around before gesturing dramatically towards Rose with the fossil. “Gold star for the lady!” 

Rose felt unaccountably disappointed, but she smiled weakly anyway. “So that's where we're going — what about when?” 

The Doctor hummed in a pleased way. “Excellent question, Rose. The upper Oligocene epoch!”

“And when's that, then, for those of us who didn't study paleontology?” Rose teased. 

“About 34 million years ago,” the Doctor said. “And I didn't study paleontology, I lived it!” she added with a wink. 

Rose rolled her eyes and smirked at her, at which the Doctor raised both of her eyebrows, but then grinned. 

The Doctor leaped into action, twirling a dial until it read "Upper Oligocene," and then using the sliders to dial in the date, time, and year — June 24, 08:01, -34x10^6. Then she threw the long lever into the up position and held on to the console as the blue rods in the central column began to move up and down, barely avoiding each other in a rhythmic sword dance. This initiated a noise like warping metal slowed down to the speed of whale song.

“Would you like to have tea in the kitchen while we wait for the TARDIS to arrive at our destination? It'll take her a while to go that far into the past.”

“Tea sounds amazing!” admitted Rose, her stomach grumbling at the reminder that she hadn't eaten anything for hours and hours. “Will there be jam?” she teased as they made their way deeper inside of the ship. 

The Doctor seemed taken aback. “Of course there's jam! Dozens of kinds! I have kinds of jam you've never dreamed of, Rose! Including several types of rose jam, in fact,” she added thoughtfully. “Would you fancy a dollop of raspberry rose jam on your scone, Rose? Or guava rose jelly? Hojo berry and rose preserves?” she said, waggling her eyebrows at the young woman. Rose just shook her head and chuckled. 

They arrived at the kitchen to find that the table was already set for a full afternoon tea. They both gawked at the piles of scones on fine China, the dishes of strawberry jam and clotted cream, row after row of finger sandwiches, and two cups of steaming tea, each with a red rose blossom tucked next to it. There was also a pot of tea, a bowl of sugar cubes, and a small pitcher of milk. 

“What are you up to, old girl?” the Doctor puzzled aloud, looking up at the ceiling, and Rose realized that she was talking to the TARDIS. The lights flashed briefly, and the Doctor looked even more confused. But then she shrugged and took her seat, motioning Rose to do the same. 

“The TARDIS seems to have taken a shine to you, Rose. Luckily for us! Tuck in,” the Doctor instructed as she reached for a scone, cut it in half, and slathered it with clotted cream and jam. Rose sat down opposite the Doctor and took one of the cups of tea, adding a little milk to it before sipping it appreciatively. She also took an egg salad finger sandwich and ate it in two bites, then went back for a cucumber one. 

They ate and drank without talking for a few minutes, quietly apart from the clinking of China cups against saucers, and various appreciative noises from the Doctor that sounded a bit like appreciation for … something else, and made Rose blush. 

“Mmnmm, oh, she's outdone herself this time!” enthused the Doctor, taking another bite of her second scone. “A banana scone!” she raved with her mouth full — somehow without spewing crumbs on the table, though the words were indistinct. “Can you believe I never thought of it myself? Sheer genius!”

Rose furrowed her brow bemusedly. The Doctor swallowed and then continued her monologue with greater clarity, “The TARDIS, I mean — she's alive, my ship. Telepathic, as well, and sometimes she'll move rooms from one location to another, or manifest objects, like materializing something I've lost right in front of me. Even more rarely, she'll materialize food or drink. But this spread is above and beyond!”

“Well, I can't argue with that,” Rose said. “But… if she's telepathic, does that mean she could, I dunno… manipulate thoughts — alter memories or anything like that?” 

The Doctor looked surprised. “Well, she does enable the understanding of other languages for those who travel on board,” she admitted, “But you don't have to worry about her randomly messing about with your thoughts or anything similar, I promise you. The TARDIS would never do such a thing without your consent.”

Slowly, Rose nodded. “All right,” she sighed. “Well, that's a relief!”

"Rose, what were you doing in the museum?" the Doctor asked, not unkindly. 

Rose froze for a moment, then regained her composure. "I was looking for something I'd lost," she said carefully. 

"In the paleontology collection?" said the Doctor skeptically. 

Rose lowered her head and sipped her tea in silence. 

The Doctor sighed. "Can you at least tell me when you're from? 

Rose looked up at her, startled. 

"The clothes you're wearing are a bit fashion-forward for 1978," said the Doctor, crinkling her nose in a way that Rose found absolutely adorable. 

"I'm originally from 2005."

"In London? East End?" 

"Yeah, why?" said Rose. 

The Doctor's brow wrinkles deepened. "I've been there and then a few times, is all. With your propensity for getting into trouble, I'm surprised I never ran into you before." 

"Of all the cheek!" Rose laughed. "I never had an adventure like this until I met you. You're a trouble magnet!" 

Just then, she had an odd, pulsing, buzzing sensation throughout her body. 

“We're here!” the Doctor shouted joyfully. 

The Doctor took one last sip of tea, stood up and extended a hand to her. “Come on, then! _Andiamo_! Adventure awaits!” she grinned. 

Rose couldn't help grinning back. She took the Doctor's hand, and they half walked (because they were full of tea and scones), and half ran to the control room. The Doctor let go of Rose's hand to grab a heather gray hooded coat from a bronze coat rack in a dim corner of the room, and put it on over her hoodie. The two women walked around the console, to the exterior TARDIS doors. 

“Are you ready, Rose?” the Doctor said, grabbing both door handles. 

“You think you're so impressive!” Rose teased, shaking her head. 

“Hello! All of time and space!” said the Doctor in an outraged tone. 

Rose just grinned. “Show me, then.”

The Doctor beamed at her, and threw the doors open. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case any readers work at or are very familiar with the Natural History Museum in London, I should note that I took some liberties with the geography of the building, but I hope I accurately represented the atmosphere of the museum as it was when this part of the story takes place. I relied heavily on Richard Fortey's book, "Dry Storeroom No. 1," a surprisingly readable history of the museum.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, a regular-length chapter -- happy Friday! :))
> 
> Circular artwork from the final piece by nowrunalong. <3

## Chapter Four 

The high plains before them were peppered with grass and shrubs and an occasional tree. Snow-capped mountains pierced the clouds in the distance. The sun shone over the trees to their right, warming the entire vista with golden light. A river ran down from the hills, supporting denser stands of trees along its path. A solitary owl hoot was the only sound Rose could recognize amid the many strange bird calls that echoed over the plateau, and there were unfamiliar smells in the air, wild and enticing. The plains were edged with green forest, which surrounded the TARDIS on three sides. 

The Doctor's eyes sparkled. “This is the Oligocene, Rose!” 

Rose inhaled the fresh, cool, rarefied air, closing her eyes and smiling as leaf-dappled sunshine crossed her face. She pivoted and beamed at the Doctor as she took her arm and leaned into her. 

"All right, I'm impressed," she laughed, and the Doctor laughed with her.

“Wait, are there dinosaurs here?” Rose asked, suddenly wondering about her ability to outrun a raptor à la Jurassic Park when she was still full of scones. 

“Oh no — we're more than thirty million years too late for dinosaurs. Except birds. Much less exciting. Still, you can't have everything,” she said philosophically, scrunching the bridge of her nose in a manner that distracted Rose to no end. 

They watched for a moment as a herd of something vaguely resembling red deer emerged from the forest in the distance and trotted towards the river. Overhead flew one white, and one white and brown bird with fancy black crests and very long tails. "Asian paradise flycatchers," said the Doctor. "They're heading to the river, too, to feed and drink."

Rose nodded. "Is that where we're going?" 

"Nope. We need to follow the edge of the plains near the trees." 

The Doctor led her towards the spot where the not-deer had come out of the forest. She pointed out Manchurian elm, ash, birch, Mongolian oak and a number of pine and spruce species as they walked along the edge of the woods. 

"None of which we're looking for," said the Doctor. "BUT, look over there!" she said in excitement, "Those tall, broad trees with big leaves?" she pointed in the direction they were heading. 

"Those are the ones?" 

"Yes! _Ginkgo adiantoides_ is similar to _Ginkgo biloba_ , which is the only species of ginkgo to survive to your time," the Doctor said, going into full lecture mode, "but it had oodles more flavonoids and, especially, more laetones than your modern species. That's the key ingredient! We'll harvest the leaves and I'll be able to process them into a liquid bursting with the right stuff to cure this plague!"

The Doctor looked so pleased that Rose smiled, despite the puzzled look she was sure she had on her face — she'd been lost at _Ginkgo adiantoides,_ and by "flavonoids," her eyes had glazed over. 

"Come on!" the Doctor grinned, gesturing forward with a great sweep of her arm and striding towards the bright green-leaved ginkgos.

Rose followed, and almost laughed when she caught herself trying to catch a glimpse of the Doctor's posterior as her coat swayed back and forth. 

The Doctor was moving quickly, and Rose had to run to keep up. 

"Doctor, wait — how are we going to collect the leaves? We don't have any bags or anything!"

The Doctor spun on her heel and came to a complete stop so fast that Rose walked straight into her. 

"Oof! Sorry!" Rose gasped, embarrassed, as the Doctor reached out and steadied her. 

Rose bravely looked the Doctor in the eyes, and thought she saw a flash of interest along with the amusement. 

"Oh, haven't we!" the Doctor said triumphantly, pulling what appeared to be a large bed sheet out of her coat pocket. 

"Er … Haven't we what?" Rose said, wrinkling her brow in confusion. 

"Haven't we got bags!" the Doctor exclaimed, handing the large white bag to Rose with a flourish. 

"But … what?" Rose said, drawing what seemed like yards and yards of fabric into her arms. 

"Transdimensional pockets! They're bigger on the inside, just like the TARDIS." The Doctor beamed. 

Slowly, Rose grinned back at her. "You're a nutter."

The Doctor just smiled, turned back around and strode off towards the ginkgos. 

"Come on, Rose, _andiamo_! Ooh, I do like that! I should say that more often. Always did like Italian! _Andiamo_!" 

Shaking her head in amusement, Rose followed the Doctor. 

Another two minutes' walk brought them to the edge of what turned out to be a large grove of ginkgo trees, the plains on one side, a thicket of bushes on the other. The trees were broad and tall, and Rose wondered how they were going to get the leaves down. 

But the Doctor wasn't slowed down for a moment. She scaled the tree trunk like a monkey, and disappeared into the branches, the leaves so thick that Rose almost couldn't see her pull out the sonic screwdriver and aim it at a small branch. 

"Look out below!" was the only warning Rose got to hop out of the way as a whirring sound began, and moments later, the branch crashed to the ground. The Doctor's eager face appeared above the downed branch and beamed at Rose. 

"There you go! I knew modifying the sonic to work on wood was going to come in handy! Now Rose, if you would be so good as to cut the leaves off at the base with this," she said as she tossed a Swiss army knife down to her, "and put them in the bag, I'll try to find another good branch."

"Right, ok," Rose said agreeably, bending down and starting to cut off swathes of leaves, stripping the branch bare. She gathered the leaves in her hands and wrangled the bag open, depositing them inside. Just then, a _whomp_ behind her let her know that the Doctor had found and cut another branch. She renewed her attack on the new branch, quickly shearing the wood of its leaves. 

After the Doctor had cut four branches off the first tree, she shimmied down and they moved to the next tree.

"Don't want to hurt the poor trees more than I have to," said the Doctor. 

Rose smiled at that. "You're a Doctor — maybe you should put giant plasters on their wounds," she teased. 

"That's it! Setting 2874 — cauterize wood! Rose Tyler, you're a genius," she said, and to Rose's surprise, hugged the young woman before running back to the first tree and climbing it again. Rose went back to watch what the Doctor was doing, but she was already too high up for Rose to see much. The sonic whirred away four times, and then the Doctor quickly shimmied down again, and patted the tree trunk. 

"Sorry, old thing," she clucked. 

Rose giggled. 

"What? It's only polite," the Doctor insisted. "Besides, you never know when you might need a tree's help in the future, and they do like to gossip," she added under her breath.

Rose just grinned and shook her head. 

They walked back over to the next, larger tree, and the Doctor climbed up, cut six branches, cauterized the scars and slid down, then helped Rose gather the rest of the leaves and toss them in a second bag the Doctor had produced from her transdimensional pockets.

They repeated this procedure three more times. 

"How many more leaves do we need to gather?" 

"I think another two or three branches' worth, just to be on the safe side," the Doctor replied, as they walked to the next tree. Some of the lower branches on this tree, and a few other trees in the immediate area, appeared to have been stripped of not only their leaves, but their twigs as well. A few of them were broken off as if they'd been in a hurricane. 

"What happened here?" Rose asked. 

The Doctor looked inscrutable for a moment, but then she broke. "I hope you'll have the chance to find out," she grinned. 

Rose pursed her lips at that, but then laughed, and the Doctor laughed with her. 

"Give me a hand up, will you?" she said, and Rose bent over and made a "V" shape of her arms by interlocking her fingers. She'd done this a hundred times for her friend Mickey when they were growing up, to get over fences in the neighborhood, so it came naturally. The Doctor stepped into Rose's hands with her left foot and put her left hand on her back as she caught a branch with her right hand, then pushed off Rose's back and grabbed the branch with both hands and swung into the tree. 

Rose groaned and shook off her hands as she stood and stretched her back. "Blimey, you're heavier than Mickey," she grumbled. "Did you have a full English this morning, or what?" 

But the Doctor had already disappeared into the canopy. 

Moments later the cyclical hum of the sonic screwdriver was followed by crashing and a _whomp_ sound as a branch fell from the tree. Rose cut off a swath of leaves and deposited them in bag number two, and was just gathering another armful of leaves when there was a second crash behind her. No sonic hum before, or _whomp_ afterward. Brow wrinkled in confusion, Rose straightened up and turned around. "Oh my God!" she exclaimed, dropping her armful of leaves on the forest floor and backing away. 

An enormous dusky-gray creature, larger than the elephant at the Natural History Museum, but shaped more like a thin, hornless rhinoceros on tall legs, stood placidly in front of her. She gasped as it took a step towards her, but it only lowered its head to the ground, and in one _whuff_ , Rose's dropped leaves were gone. 

Rose felt as if her legs might give way from the shock, but suddenly she felt a warm, reassuring presence drop from the tree behind her. The Doctor put her hands on Rose's shoulders and gently squeezed. "It's all right, Rose," she said, and reached down and pulled off a branched twig with some leaves left on it. "She's a vegetarian." And she calmly stepped past Rose and held out the small branch as an offering. 

The creature took half a step forward and chomped down on the branch, nearly pulling the Doctor off her feet as she stripped the branch of its leaves and small twigs, chewing noisily, and snuffling in apparent enjoyment. 

"She's an _Indricotherium_ ," the Doctor said, bouncing on the tips of her shoes. "Or well, technically, _Paraceratherium_ , but I prefer the old name: _Indricotherium_. Rolls off the tongue better! They're hornless rhinoceroses; the largest terrestrial mammals that ever lived on your world."

"I believe it," Rose said in wonder. "I rode an elephant at the zoo when I was a kid, but she makes that elephant look like a …" 

"Rose," the Doctor interrupted her gently. "She's just a baby."

"What?"

"About a year old, I think. The adults are nearly twice as big."

"Oh," said Rose faintly.

"Here," the Doctor said, stepping back to the tree and pulling off another small leafy branch. She handed it to Rose. "Why don't you feed her?" 

Rose was fairly sure she could come up with at least one reason why this wasn't a good idea, but she took the branch from the Doctor and, as if in a dream, extended it towards the beast. 

The young Indricothere stepped forward and, as she'd done with the Doctor, stripped the leaves from the branch and chewed them, making the same happy snuffling sound. 

A low-pitched humming sound followed, but this time from the direction of the Doctor. Rose turned around in time to see her stop the noise coming from the sonic screwdriver. 

"That's a calming noise for baby Indricotheres. I recorded it from a mother Indricothere with her young on a previous trip. They sort of adopted me. Long story," she said hastily, before Rose could ask. 

"You can pet her if you want, Rose. She's perfectly calm and friendly," the Doctor continued.

Rose turned from the Doctor to the Indricothere, which was standing placidly in front of her. Slowly, she reached out a hand and laid it on the baby's long nose. The Indricothere shuffled her feet, but otherwise didn't move, so Rose began to stroke her snout. As she applied more pressure, the young rhino let out a contented chuckle, and Rose laughed in delight. 

Growing bolder, Rose gently scratched the Indricothere's snout. This went well until she scratched harder, and the Indricothere, seeking even more pressure, tossed her whole head forward, knocking Rose backwards. The Doctor caught her in strong arms before she could fall to the ground, wrapping them around her in a protective gesture. 

"It's ok! She's just trying to get you to scratch an itchy spot," the Doctor said reassuringly. Rose, who was thoroughly distracted by being held by her, breathed, "Oh…," she said breathily, and would have reached out from the circle of the Doctor's arms to continue scratching the Indricothere's nose, but the Doctor held her back. 

"Sorry, Rose, but we should get going before this little one's mother gets back," she said. Rose reluctantly extracted herself from what she could have sworn had turned into an embrace. 

"Right! Yeah… " she said in agreement. "Little one?" she grinned. 

Just then, a whuffling sound came from behind them, and they both looked around to see what their new friend was doing — only to find out that the Indricothere had discovered one of the bags of leaves, and was having a snack. 

"Oi!" the Doctor said crossly, snatching the bag away from her. "We need those leaves!" 

Rose just laughed. 

Suddenly, the gentle giant pricked her ears up and sniffed the air nervously. She backed away from Rose with a wild look in her eyes. 

"What's the matter, girl?" she said, as the Doctor adjusted the calming setting on the sonic screwdriver. 

The next few moments happened as a blur: a huge, brown-and-black-striped creature, like some nightmare cross between a bear and a tiger, burst from the thicket and sped towards them, fangs bared; the Indricothere startled and ran towards the plains with a loud squeal; and the bear-cat-like beast saw a much smaller, softer target, and pounced. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick note that the large gray creature in jemsauce's cover art (see Chapter 1) is, in fact, a juvenile Indricotherium. The adults were over fifteen feet tall at the shoulder!


	5. Chapter 5

## Chapter Five 

Rose had instinctively moved to get out of the way of the panicked Indricothere and curled halfway into a ball before the creature's strike hit, so that the bite that had been meant for her throat landed on her left arm and shoulder, instead. She screamed in pain, but was still conscious when she heard the Doctor cry out her name, immediately followed by the whir of the sonic, that low-pitched murmur of the mother Indricothere that was meant to calm its young. The cat-bear behemoth paused, and the Doctor cursed loudly and made a quick adjustment to the sonic. Rose collapsed unconscious to the ground, and the beast, larger than a modern-day tiger, stood over her body. 

The noise that came from the sonic now was a high-pitched, almost ultrasonic pulsing sound that vibrated in a clashing dual tone. The creature snarled over Rose's body, shaking his enormous, maned head rapidly from side to side, as if trying to shake the sound out. 

The Doctor advanced in a martial arts stance she hadn't used for centuries, sonic held in front of her, increasing the volume as she went. When she was within a body length of them, she switched the sonic to her left hand, and looking the beast directly in the eyes, she tweaked the sonic, producing an inhuman growl that said clearly, "This is your last chance. Back off." 

The bear-cat creature flattened his ears against his head and growled back. He had just begun to crouch when the Doctor took an insanely fast flying kick that landed a boot sharply on one side of his neck. He yelped once, then suddenly turned and ran back into the woods, deciding to look for an easier meal elsewhere. 

"Rose!" the Doctor cried as she skidded to a kneeling position beside the young woman, quickly assessing the damage, and instantly realizing she needed to stop the bleeding and get her back to the TARDIS as fast as possible if the girl had a chance to survive. Working more quickly than perhaps she ever had in her long life, she peeled the ripped leather in Rose's jacket away from the wounds, changed the setting on the sonic, and ran it over Rose's arm and shoulder, sealing the torn flesh. She removed her own coat and hoodie, and tore the hoodie into strips, which she wrapped and tied around Rose's leather jacket arms as a makeshift pressure bandage. 

"Hang on!" the Doctor implored. Quickly and carefully, she lifted the young woman into her arms, and took off for the TARDIS at a run. Birds and small mammals scattered out of her way as she sprinted for the blue box at the edge of the woods. As soon as she saw the time ship, she put on one last burst of speed, and out of pure desperation shouted, "Open Sesame!" as she approached. Nothing happened. " _Please_!" she thought. 

And then it did: the doors burst open, the Doctor sailed through, and she ran through the console room. The TARDIS doors closed behind her. 

" _Infirmary_!" the Doctor shouted, and there was a sense of shifting within the ship as the TARDIS moved the infirmary to the hallway that led from the console room. The Doctor sent a wave of gratitude through the ship, and carefully edged Rose's limp body through the doorway. 

She deposited her on the examination table and used the sonic to cut the sleeve and left front of her leather jacket and shirt off, just enough to see that her emergency field repair was holding; she hadn't lost any more of her precious blood on the way here, but she was deathly pale. The Doctor dragged a very shiny machine over next to the table, gently inserted a needle into Rose's right arm and taped it into place, then hooked up the machine to the line in Rose's arm. She checked the settings on the machine, and turned it on. Synthetic blood surged into Rose's axillary vein, making its way to her heart for further distribution throughout her body. 

After making sure the pump was working properly, the Doctor also attached a bag of general anesthetic fluid and one with pain killers to the device, and waited for Rose to slip into a deeper sleep. By then, her skin was pinking up. 

The Doctor went back to Rose's injured arm and shoulder, scanning her for broken bones, severed tendons and nerve damage. The most serious problem was that her shoulder had effectively been crushed to bits by the creature's powerful bite. 

She carefully washed Rose’s injuries with antibiotic fluid. She attached temporary splints to her shoulder and arm. Then she used the bone-knitting setting on the sonic screwdriver to repair her broken collarbone, and proceeded to knit the three broken pieces of her humerus back together, grimacing at the amount of damage the beast's bite had inflicted. 

Once that was done, the Doctor took a drink of water and prepared for a long day of surgery to repair Rose's shoulder. As grateful as she was that no vital area had been affected, she was anxious about fixing the complex series of fractures and other damage unaided. Even after so many years in the company of humans, she couldn't recall handling a more complicated case than the one before her. Taking a deep breath, she began. 

Six hours and forty-two minutes later, the Doctor stood back and stretched. She tapered off the anesthesia and pulled up a chair next to Rose, sitting down heavily. She was so tired. She looked at her handiwork and nodded. She had 3D-printed the top third of the woman's scapula using her right one as an inverted model, and grown bone around it using a piece of Rose's own scapula to seed the growth, and replaced the crushed third in her body with it. Cartilage, muscles, tendons, ligaments, and the rest had been recreated or reattached. The young woman should make a full recovery, and eventually all the scars would fade. Then she looked at Rose's face, and allowed herself to see the person for the first time since the attack this morning. 

She was beautiful, and full of life, and she'd embraced everything the Doctor had thrown at her in the short time she'd known her. She was bright and funny and didn't let the Doctor get away with anything, which was a rare quality she secretly adored. And the Doctor had nearly gotten her killed on her first trip in the TARDIS. 

The Doctor scrubbed her face with her hands in a gesture of frustration and self-disgust. And then she got up, marched to the control room, and out through the TARDIS doors. She still had two transdimensional bags of leaves to haul back, and a limited amount of daylight left. This time, the Doctor held her sonic out in front of her as she walked back. She was taking no chances. 

But though she saw a mother with a juvenile Indricothere in the distance on the plains, walking toward the river, the Doctor didn't see the bear-cat creature from this morning, nor any other predators. She arrived at the grove in a few minutes and found the two bags. Rose's was still open and had leaves strewn about the opening of the bag. The Doctor climbed one of the nearest ginkgo trees and cut down three branches, then climbed down and cut off the leaves, stuffing them into bag #2 as she went. Finally, the Doctor grabbed both bags and tossed them over her shoulder. She walked a bit more slowly on the way back to the TARDIS, but arrived without incident. 

She took the bags of leaves to her medical lab, which the TARDIS had already moved conveniently next to the infirmary. And then she went to check on Rose. 

The young woman was still unconscious, of course, but her vitals were steady and a quick scan with the sonic revealed that her injured shoulder and arm were already healing nicely. 

The Doctor knew she should get on with making the distillation while the ginkgo leaves were still fresh. But she found herself unable to take her eyes off of Rose. She looked so fragile with her shoulder and arm in a cast. And yet the Doctor sensed only strength from her. 

She allowed herself to watch her for a moment longer, until her sense of duty prevailed, and she reluctantly turned away. She walked next door to the medical lab. She was nearly certain that the ginkgo was the last ingredient she needed to effect a cure for the Ehruan plague, but she knew it might take some time to find the right formulation. 

The first step was to put together a Jacobi still, which was the simplest and best way to achieve the highest possible purification of the ginkgo into its active components. 

Before she did anything else, she pulled a monitor down on its extensible arm so she could see it while she was working, and brought up a split screen showing Rose's vital signs and a small window showing the woman sleeping. 

Then she fetched two large pots from a low cupboard, filled one to the quarter-mark with a viscous red liquid, attached a flexible tube with a nozzle to the inside edge of the other, and carefully suspended the first pot above three Bunsen burners. 

In a flurry of activity, she ransacked other cupboards for two huge round-bottomed flasks, a long thermometer, and various glass tubes and contraptions, and hooked them up to the rest of the system in a complicated fashion. She added water to the first flask, then spent some time feeding crushed leaves into it, until the bottom third was occupied by a green-tinged liquid mass. She lit the Bunsen burners then opened the valve in the nozzle that led to the second pot, releasing liquid nitrogen, which immediately began to sublimate a foggy vapor into the room. Finally, she filled a small beaker with a centimeter of alcohol and covered it with a watch glass. 

The Doctor sat down in the plush chair in the middle of the lab and picked up a book from the small bookcase next to it. She tried to read one book, and then another, but found she kept glancing at the small image of Rose. Irritated with herself for her lack of focus, she got up and poked at the monitor until Rose vanished, leaving only her vitals blipping across the screen.

She returned to her book, able to concentrate on reading now, though with some difficulty. She made occasional adjustments to the still, but for the most part, left it alone to work its magic, until the distillate in the collection flask was dark green. She got up and detached the collection flask from the rest of the system, then poured the green liquid into a beaker. She ransacked a drawer and withdrew a small stack of thin glass plates coated with a white material; TCL plates. 

Grabbing a small pipette, she drew a sample of the distillate, and deposited it on a TCL plate. She took the watch glass off the beaker of alcohol she'd set aside earlier, and carefully set the TCL plate vertically inside. She pulled up a chair and waited for the solvent to climb the plate. When it neared the top, she took it out, quickly marked the solvent front with a pencil, and allowed it to dry for a few minutes. Then she scanned it with the sonic, circled the visible spots, and consulted a huge book she pulled down from the narrow bookcase next to the lab bench. The Doctor scribbled a few calculations in a blue notebook, looked up the results in the large tome, and listed the main molecular components in the notebook. She circled two of the names. 

"Ha! Gotcha!" she said with satisfaction. She stretched out her arms and yawned. She went to the galley for a cup of tea, and her stomach clenched thinking about having tea there with Rose less than twelve hours ago. She made her tea and a piece of toast with guava jelly, then returned to her self-imposed task in the lab. 

She worked until she had her first formulation, testing it against a sample of the plague that Ryvos, the head Ehruan physician, had given her to develop the cure. It worked, but not well enough: after a few hopeful moments when it was eradicating the plague, it slowed its progress to a crawl, covering the interior of the glass bottle with the black substance. The Doctor sighed in disappointment. 

And then decided to go check on Rose. 

The young woman was still sleeping, as she'd known she would be. She checked her vitals, and heaved a sigh of relief when they were all better than she’d expected. She pulled up a chair and sat down heavily, rubbing her eyes. Half unconsciously, she took Rose’s hand in hers. She leaned back and closed her eyes, telling herself she’d just rest her eyes for a minute. 

Nearly two hours later, she startled awake, still holding Rose’s hand. She leaned towards her and brushed the hair off her forehead.

"Get well, Rose," she whispered. "And when I've delivered the cure to the Ehruan, I promise I'll take you anywhere or anywhen you want to go."

"Even Barcelona?" a groggy voice replied. 

The Doctor startled. She hadn't expected her to wake up for quite a while yet, but then the woman had been surprising her from the moment they met. 

"Rose!" the Doctor exclaimed joyfully, squeezing her hand.

The hand in hers started to squeeze back, but stopped and abruptly let go as Rose cried out in pain. Without thinking, the Doctor leaned down and brushed her lips against her fingers. 

"I'm so sorry, Rose…," she began, but the young woman cut her off. 

"It’s not your fault, Doctor!" she insisted. "You brought me on a fantastic trip. And I got to pet an Indrico-something!" 

"I should have protected you better," the Doctor fretted aloud. 

"Doctor…" Rose sighed, "You saved my life." the Doctor tried to interrupt, but Rose continued, "It’s dangerous out there. I accepted that when I came with you."

The Doctor looked as though she might raise another objection, but Rose raised her good hand and cut her off. 

"That sabre-toothed tiger…" 

"Sarkastodon," the Doctor corrected automatically. 

"Sarkastodon. Really? No, whatever," Rose continued firmly. "Don't interrupt.”

The Doctor raised her eyebrows in bemusement. 

“I came with you because I wanted to,” Rose continued. “You didn't make me come along, and you certainly didn't mean for me to come to any harm. It just happened. And you stopped that creature from killing me, and patched me up properly."

The Doctor nodded. "All right, I get it. It was your choice," she said reluctantly, holding up her hands in surrender. "But I reserve the right to try to make it up to you."

Rose smiled at that. "Thank you. I just want…," she hesitated.

"Rose? What do you want?" 

"Just … take me with you." Rose said, and held her breath. 

"Where?" asked the Doctor, confused.

"Everywhere," she said softly. 

The Doctor stopped breathing. Could this young human know what she was saying? What she was asking? 

"It's nearly always this dangerous. I don't know that I can protect you any better than I did today."

Rose rolled her eyes. "I know that. And I'm not asking you to."

The Doctor looked at Rose's casts. She did know what she was getting herself into. And she still wanted to come along. 

"Don't you have a family that you'll miss? And who'll miss you?" she asked reluctantly. 

"It's time I left home," Rose said firmly. 

"Wellllll… In that case, I'd better find you a room on board," the Doctor grinned. 

Rose smiled back. "Thank you."

"I should be thanking you," the Doctor said quietly. "It gets lonely sometimes, this old life."

"Better with two," Rose grinned slowly. 

"Yes, exactly!" the Doctor said excitedly. 

Rose laughed softly, then whimpered as she shifted her arm by accident. 

The Doctor winced in sympathy. 

"You should try to lie still and rest. I can give you something to help you sleep, if you like."

Rose was quiet for a moment. “Yeah, all right.” 

The Doctor fetched another bag from a drawer, this time with purple liquid in it, and set about attaching it to Rose's line. "Sleep now," she ordered. 

"Yes, Doctor," Rose smiled, already falling asleep. 

The Doctor got a soft, lightweight blanket out of the linen cupboard and tucked her in. 

"Goodnight, Rose," she whispered on her way out the door.


	6. Chapter 6

## Chapter Six

The next day, the Doctor brought Rose breakfast, and a simple black T-shirt to replace the destroyed leather jacket and broadcloth shirt. She helped her change into the T-shirt, the task made easier by the magnetic closures all along the right seam. The Doctor helped Rose to the loo, and got her settled back in bed, and then went to work in the lab. 

Over the next several days, the Doctor meticulously tested dozens of formulations of the cure for potency and safety, until she finally had a drug that she was sure would work. She revisited the ginkgo grove periodically for more leaves, until she had built up quite a large stockpile — almost large enough to create sufficient medicine to dispense to the population of the entire capital city and beyond. 

Rose continued to recover at a remarkable rate. By the third day, she was able to sit in the plush green velvet chair in the lab and keep the Doctor company for a brief period while she was working. Rose asked the Doctor questions; about the _Indricotherium_ and other animals that lived in that time; about the Ehruan, who lived on an Earth-sized planet called Ehru with two suns: one orange, and one a red dwarf; and about the TARDIS, among other things. When the Doctor noticed that Rose hadn't asked a question for a while, and she turned around to find the young woman asleep in the chair, she very carefully lifted her into her arms and took her back to the infirmary. She tucked her in, then went back to work, trying to ignore the pleasant ache she felt in her torso every time she looked at Rose. 

On the fifth day the Doctor removed the IV line from the young woman, brought out a hover-chair, and helped her into it. 

“I know it’s just your shoulder that hurts, but this will let you get around without jolting your shoulder, and you can conserve your energy for recovery,” the Doctor explained.

Rose was able to zip around the TARDIS in the contraption, and only by explaining the limited range of the device, and promising that she could come along as soon as she could run, was the Doctor able to keep her from coming along to look for a new ginkgo grove. 

The Doctor came home to the TARDIS that day with a large bag of leaves, and began the long, tedious process of turning the leaves into the last component of the liquid drug that she planned to dispense to the Ehruan with the help of their head physician, Ryvos. 

She had dinner with the ever-curious Rose, and explained the basic steps involved in making and distributing the drug. 

"Well, the first thing I do is to macerate and distill the leaves to make an extract of ginkgo," the Doctor said around a mouthful of lasagna. "Then I'll combine the extract with the extracts of the other five ingredients in the correct proportion and there you go!" She looked at Rose to see if she was still with her, and she appeared to be interested, so the Doctor continued. "I'm making a liquid drug that can be delivered quickly and painlessly with a jet injector. It's a disposable, recyclable syringe with a very fine needle that uses compressed carbon dioxide to inject the medicine automatically in the correct dosage."

"How long will it take to distribute to everyone?" 

"It's a small society, but still, it will take a few days," the Doctor admitted. "They're bound to be short-staffed with the epidemic going on."

"Can I help?" said Rose hopefully. 

"Sorry, Rose," the Doctor said firmly but kindly. "You've still got a ways to go before you'll be up for running around all day."

Rose grimaced in frustration. The Doctor put her hand on Rose's good shoulder and gave her a sympathetic squeeze, unconsciously stroking with her thumb. She lingered so long, Rose looked up and blushed as the Doctor quickly withdrew her hand, suddenly looking oddly self-conscious. 

The Doctor got up and cleared the table, babbling about the history of jet injectors, medicine among the Time Lords, and the primitiveness of 20th century medicine and how Rose was lucky she wasn’t being treated then. 

Rose listened, rolling her eyes but then smiling as the Doctor described the state of the medical profession in 1978. 

“Did you know, Rose, your lot hadn’t even invented antiviral drugs then?”

“No, I didn’t know that,” Rose said, gazing at the Doctor in a way that made her stomach clench. 

“It’s true!”

“Lucky for the Ehruan you came along,” Rose grinned.

A shadow passed across the Doctor’s face, almost quickly enough to be unnoticeable, but then she smiled at Rose. “I guess you're right.”

Rose nodded approvingly, then yawned. “I think I’ll take myself back to the infirmary for the night.”

“Oh, I’ll come with you.”

“Thanks, Doctor.”

“Well, it’s hard to put yourself to bed with a shoulder cast on,” the Doctor blustered

The Doctor and Rose chatted away on their way to the infirmary. Once Rose was in bed and tucked in for the night, the Doctor went back to the med lab to finish synthesizing more of the drug.

The next morning, Rose woke up to what sounded like a food processor. It turned out to be the sonic screwdriver on a new setting, which the Doctor was testing by cutting a sample piece of hardened casting material. The Doctor grinned at her, and she returned it.

“I’m getting my cast off?!”

“I can’t believe it myself, but you’re recovered enough for me to remove it. You’ll still have to wear your shoulder and arm in a sling, and the same boring black T-shirts, but you’ll be much more mobile and comfortable this way.”

“That’s fantastic! Why are you not more excited?” Rose said suspiciously.

Caught, the Doctor grimaced at her. “Because, I have no idea why you’ve recovered so quickly," she sighed."I mean, none. Humans usually recover so slowly, you should have been in that cast for at least five or six weeks. But your healing, for some reason, is greatly accelerated.”

“But that’s good, right?”

“Yeah, that’s good,” the Doctor admitted cautiously.

“But … what?” said Rose, narrowing her eyes.

“I don’t like not knowing why. And there’s something else,” she said, swinging a monitor over so that Rose could see it. “When I scanned you with the sonic when I first brought you in, you had Vortex energy in your blood.” The screen displayed small packets of golden light circulating with red and white blood cells, appearing and disappearing within her blood vessels.

“And that's bad because …?”

“Because, you shouldn’t have Vortex energy in amounts detectable by the sonic. This footage is from a full medical scan I ran with the sonic the first night after you were injured.”

“And that's why I’m healing so fast?”

The Doctor bit her lip. “I don’t know. Possibly. Vortex energy is so unpredictable.” 

“But … it’s not dangerous, is it?”

The Doctor took a deep breath and released it. “It can be, in large amounts. I just don’t know if this,” she gestured to the monitor, “is too much. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Rose’s brow wrinkled in concern. 

“It doesn’t seem to be doing you any harm. Try not to worry,” she said, squeezing Rose’s good arm in reassurance. “I’ll keep a close eye on it.”

Rose smiled at her. "I know you will. Thank you."

"One last thing," the Doctor said seriously. 

"What's the matter?" Rose frowned. 

"Your cells basically aren't decaying, as far as my equipment can detect. And my equipment is very, very good. Rose, even my cells decay, though at a much slower rate than humans."

"So … what does that mean? I'll never die?" 

"Never is a very long time. But, unless you come to an untimely end, you should live for thousands of years. Maybe longer. Rose… who are you really?" 

Rose bit her lip and chewed on it worriedly. 

"Do you not trust me to tell me?" the Doctor said, unable to keep a plaintive note out of her voice. 

Rose looked up, startled. "What? No! That's not it at all."

"Then what? Can't be as bad as all that."

"I don't know how to answer that," she said at last. 

"Just… Promise me that you're not a danger to me or anyone else, including my TARDIS."

Rose nodded, taking the Doctor's hand and squeezing it firmly. "I promise."

The Doctor squeezed her hand back and smiled tentatively. 

“Can I get this thing off now?” Rose said, nodding towards her cast.

“Yeah, ‘course you can,” the Doctor smiled, genuinely this time. She let go of Rose's hand and turned on the sonic, carefully but quickly cutting through the cast in three places, and pulled the pieces away. Underneath, Rose’s skin was pink and perfect.

“Brilliant!” said Rose, flexing her arm gingerly. She winced.

“Hey now, take it easy! Did I not tell you I’d have to put your arm in a sling for a day or two?” the Doctor chided.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Hang on a mo’,” the Doctor said, opening a drawer opposite Rose and withdrawing a shoulder immobilizer. She gently helped her sit forward, and assembled the sling around her arm, looping straps over her shoulder and around her waist. 

Rose tried to move her left arm, but the immobilizer held it in place. 

“Right! There you go, all set.”

Rose beamed at her, and swung her legs out of bed. She stood up, and the Doctor reached out to steady her. And if she stood closer to Rose and held her arm a few moments longer than strictly necessary, the young woman didn’t seem to mind.


	7. Chapter 7

## Chapter Seven

The Doctor and Rose hurried to the med lab and gathered up the four precious liters of the bright green, gingko-based drug the Doctor had created, then walked a bit more slowly to the control room. After setting the bottles down carefully on top of the console, the Doctor punched in the coordinates for the Ministry of Health and Healing in the capital city of Ehru. 

She flew around the console, seating sliders, pulling levers, and twirling dials, flipping switches — and then hesitated, hand on the final lever that would send them into the Vortex. She stepped back and gestured to Rose. 

"Care to do the honors?" She smiled at the young woman. 

Rose's chest swelled with a strangely pleasant ache even as she grinned back and stepped next to the Doctor. She raised her good arm, grasped the handle and pulled it into place. The TARDIS dematerialized, much to the surprise of a nearby family of tiny mouse-deer, who startled and sprang away. 

The TARDIS whirled through the Vortex, passing millions of years and light years on the long way to Ehru. The pair of women sat next to the console on the shallow steps, and the Doctor told stories about her involvement in curing other plagues in different times and places, while Rose listened in fascination. 

"Doctor?" Rose interrupted the first story. 

"Hmm?" 

"How do you cure all of these illnesses without getting sick yourself? And how do you know we won't get the plague on Ehru?" 

The Doctor paused, then said apologetically, "The TARDIS will protect us. Sorry, I should have told you. The TARDIS dispenses long-acting anti-viral compounds through the air ducts on board all the time."

"It's not dangerous, is it? Are there any side effects?" 

"No, not dangerous! That's what makes it possible for us to travel to places we've never been without risk of illness. As for side effects, they're very rare. You haven't had a lot of headaches or fatigue?" 

"Well, no…."

"Sun sensitivity? Shingles?" 

Rose frowned and shook her head. 

"What about coarse, thick hair growing out of your nose?" she said, eyeing Rose's nose as if she expected it to sprout hair on the spot. 

"What?! No!" said Rose vehemently, covering her nose in horror. 

The Doctor grinned at her mischievously. "I reckon you'll be all right, then."

Rose punched the Doctor's shoulder. 

"Ow! What was that for?" the Doctor complained. 

"That's for not warning me about the anti-viral drugs. I might have chosen to take my chances with the viruses if I'd known about the risk of my nose going hairy." Rose said jokingly. 

The Doctor laughed, and she and Rose grinned at each other. 

"So what happened with those Wayang Kulit performers in the 31st century?" Rose asked. 

The Doctor resumed telling the story, and went on to tell Rose about another adventure she'd had with space llamas. 

Rose occasionally interjected an expression of surprise or sympathy, or asked a question. But eventually she found herself getting tired and leaning against the Doctor's shoulder. 

The Doctor went absolutely still for a moment, but then, taking a deep breath while trying to seem not to, she carefully wrapped an arm around Rose's waist and drew her close. And Rose, though half asleep, made a noise of pleasure that absolutely did the Doctor in, and snuggled even closer. They stayed like that, Rose slipping into sleep after a while, until pulses from the TARDIS alerted the Doctor that they were about to land. 

"Rose," the Doctor said softly, "wake up, we're almost there."

Rose blinked awake, and grumbled a bit, but sat up and rubbed her eyes. The Doctor allowed herself half a second to mourn the loss of Rose's warmth against her side then stood up and extended her hand down to Rose, helping her up. 

The TARDIS materialized, and the Doctor grabbed three of the bottles of green medicine, while Rose took the last one. 

“Ready to save the world, Rose Tyler?” 

“Always!” 

“ _Andiamo_!” 

The Doctor and Rose walked to the outer TARDIS doors, and the Doctor swung one open, revealing the inside of a huge, oval-shaped room with a curved, frosted glass canopy on top, letting in the light from two suns, one large and orange, bright overhead, and the other, smaller and reddish, setting near the other end of the canopy. The building was divided into seven sections by glass walls: six radial sections of the oval surrounding a central conference area. The walls and floor shone pale orange, the binary suns glinting off microscopic facets as the two women walked towards an oval table at the center of the building where two anxious-looking men were seated. 

They were met on the way by a woman with short, dark hair wearing something similar to a Greek toga, but deep red, and with a high collar at the back. She seemed happy to see them, but wary of something at the same time. 

"Doctor, you found the missing compound?" she inquired anxiously, nodding at the three bottles the doctor was carrying. 

"I did, Tala!" the Doctor replied enthusiastically. "Well, not just me — I had help," she said, grinning at the blonde woman behind her as she allowed Tala to take one of the bottles of green liquid. "Rose, this is Tala, the lead biochemist here. Tala, this is Rose, who I found wandering about the British Museum in the twentieth century on Earth." 

"Oh! How did you hurt your arm, Rose?" Tala inquired, pointing at her sling. 

"Ah — this happened when we were fetching the leaves for the medication." 

"Rose was attacked by a Sarkastodon, but she's well on the mend, as you can see." The Doctor smiled in her direction. 

Tala nodded and said, "I'm so sorry you were injured on our behalf. Thank you for your help, Rose. Here, let me take that," she said, relieving the blonde woman of her bottle of the drug. 

The three women resumed walking, and as they approached the central conference table, the men stood up and bowed slightly in their direction. The older, thinner man in a red robe spoke first. 

"Doctor, you've returned with the cure?" 

"I have," she replied. 

"Well it's about time! Do you know how long you've been gone?" the shorter man in an orange robe interjected. 

"Bassui! The Doctor is trying to help us!" said Tala. "Dr. Ryvos, please talk some sense into him!" 

"Calm down, Bassui," said the other man sharply. "I'm sorry, Doctor. But things have deteriorated significantly since you left. The number of cases has doubled in the past four days. It's spread beyond the Capital."

"Yes, exactly! You've got a time machine, haven't you? Where have you been?" Bassui said, obviously trying to control his anger and fear, but not succeeding very well. 

"Welllll… piloting the TARDIS is really more art than science," the Doctor replied defensively. But she found herself pushed aside by the furious blonde behind her. 

"Shut it, you!" she glowered at Bassui. 

"How dare you! Do you know who I am?" demanded the officious little man. 

"Yeah! You're the plonker who just insulted the woman who's going to save your sorry arse," she said, gesturing towards the Doctor. "Doctor, how far have we come?" Rose demanded, turning to the Time Lord. 

"What? Oh… about 240 million light years."

"Each way?" 

"Yes."

"And how far in time?"

"Er… from the Oligocene? About 2.4 billion years."

"Billion?" Rose exclaimed in surprise. 

"Well, yeah… The Ehruan are a long way in Earth’s past."

Rose blinked at her several times, then turned back, right hand on her hip, and glared at Bassui. 

"Leaving aside for the moment that both of us have risked life and limb," she removed her hand from her hip long enough to gesture towards her injured arm, "and that we've gone to a great deal of trouble to help you and your people, I think that to hit this room, on this planet, from a distance of 240 million light years, is absolutely fantastic." At this, the Doctor blushed. Rose continued, "And to miss our target by four days compared to a leap of two and a half billion years is nothing short of a miracle. Look, all I’m saying is, instead of talking shite about her piloting skills, you might show some appreciation."

The room sat in stunned silence for a long moment. Bassui cleared his throat. "I'll just … go make some tea. The usual, everyone?" The Ehruan all nodded. "Doctor, Rose? Would you care for some sweetener in yours?" he said awkwardly. 

"Two measures, please," said the Doctor, glancing at Bassui before returning to staring in wonder at Rose. 

Rose blushed. "None for me, thanks."

The Doctor reached down and brushed Rose's fingers with hers, and Rose took her hand, threading their fingers together. The Doctor squeezed gently, and a sense of reassurance passed between them. 

When Bassui had gone, the thin, gray-haired man Tala had referred to as Dr. Ryvos spoke quietly. "Please excuse him, Doctor, Rose. He had to take charge of the government suddenly when the President and the Speaker both were infected. He's only a Senator, and from the mountains where people are less … politic than in the Capital."

The Doctor nodded. "Never mind, Ryvos. The main thing is that we have the cure. I'm sure it will work this time."

"Nevertheless, I want to start with a small sample of cases," he said, almost apologetically. "Just so I'm sure it's working as you expect, before we distribute it to the rest of the population."

"Of course."

"We have a few people in quarantine in the adjoining facility. Let's start with them and see," he said, grabbing a see-through bag of jet-injectors as they got up from the table. 

The Doctor and Rose followed Dr. Ryvos over a tiled pathway to the first hospital room next door. It was part of a long, half-cylindrical building built out of brushed aluminum and glass with a green crescent emblazoned on the top. Ryvos passed a hand in front of the door, which was currently bright red. A chime sounded within.

"Come in!" a female voice replied. Dr. Ryvos made a gesture in front of the door and it slid open to reveal a woman in a simple hospital bedroom with a bed and a hospital table that was slid neatly over the bed and held a tray of food, and two comfortable-looking chairs. The current occupant of the bed had been eating her dinner, but she'd stopped to look curiously at her visitors. 

"Hello Suuvi, this is the Doctor, and that's Rose. They're here to help," said Dr. Ryvos. "They have a new medicine, and they'd like to administer a dose of a drug we believe will cure your condition. Would that be all right?"

"Certainly," the woman replied. 

"Excellent! Would you mind?" Dr. Ryvos said, producing something that looked like a smartphone, and had Suuvi check something off and then scan her thumbprint into the device. He moved the hospital table out of the way.

"Doctor? Whenever you're ready."

The Doctor showed Rose how to load the jet-injectors, which looked to Rose like something out of Star Trek, and had her continue filling the rest while she sat next to Suuvi. 

"This won't hurt much at all," the Doctor said, and pressed the tip of the injector against her shoulder. It made a soft hissing sound as the drug was delivered. 

She watched the woman carefully for a few moments, looking for signs the drug was beginning to take effect. She was startled when Suuvi closed her eyes and lurched forward, and she almost didn't catch her before she fell face-first into the bedclothes. The woman began breathing quickly, as if she was frightened or running from something in a dream. The Doctor, with help from Rose's soothing presence, was able to settle her back down. She appeared to have passed out, and every now and then she would twitch, but in the next moment she seemed to be sleeping like a baby. This went on for four minutes, as both doctors anxiously monitored their patient.

Suddenly Suuvi sat up and opened her eyes with a gasp. "I remember! Where is my husband? Is he all right?" 

Doctor Ryvos looked immensely relieved. "Yes, Minister Suuvi, he's fine! Let me page a nurse for you. One moment," he said. 

"We'll wait outside, if that's all right," said the Doctor. Ryvos nodded, and the two women quietly left the room with the bag of jet injectors. The red crescent outside the door pinged and turned green as they passed. The Doctor grinned at Rose. "It worked! We did it!" 

Rose smiled back, and hugged her tightly with her one good arm. The Doctor hugged her back. They waited until the nurse came and Dr. Ryvos had rejoined them, then entered the next room. It was identical to the first except everything was reversed, and this time there was an older man sleeping in one of the chairs. 

They woke him up and went through the same procedure they went through for Suuvi, and he also passed out, only it took him almost six minutes to come out of it. But come out of it he did, memory restored, and another nurse was summoned to ease his transition back to the life he had been missing out on for nearly a month. 

The third room was identical to the first, and housed a middle-aged woman who was pacing the room anxiously. She stopped when she saw Dr. Ryvos, and looked at her visitors curiously. 

"Good evening, Takkara."

"Hello, Dr. Ryvos." 

"Good news, Takkara! The Doctor and Rose, here, have brought us a cure for your illness. Is it all right if we give it to you now?"

"I keep telling you, I feel fine," Takkara insisted. "But if it will get me out of here and let me go home, I will gladly give you my thumbprint."

When Dr. Ryvos had secured her thumbprint on his device, he nodded to the Doctor, who got a jet injector out of the bag and sat next to the woman. 

"Hello! I'm just going to inject the drug, and then we'll sit with you for a few minutes as it takes effect. Nothing to worry about. Soon you'll be right as rain."

This time the Doctor was prepared for the lurch, catching Takkara and settling her back in her chair without incident. She and Rose sat with her, though, for the four and a half minutes it took for her to come to her senses again. She opened her eyes and spoke. 

"Oh gods, the epidemic — what has happened while I was ill?"

"Welcome back, Madame President. I will be happy to explain the whole situation, if you'll allow me." Turning to the Doctor, he said, "Why don't you and Rose go on to the next room, while I fill the President in on some of what's happened the last week."

The two women nodded and exited the room, and went to the next room with a red door. This room was identical to the second room, but there was nobody in the bed or either chair. 

The Doctor shrugged and turned to leave, bumping into Rose. She laughed and apologized, but was startled to feel a soft pressure on her arm, and hear a hissing sound. She’d caused that same hissing sound herself minutes before. She turned to look at Rose in surprise and then down at her arm where the other woman was removing the jet injector she'd just used on the Doctor. 

"Rose? What are you doing?" she demanded in shock and confusion. 

Rose covered the place she'd just injected with a warm hand. "'m sorry, Doctor," she whispered, "but you've not been well." 

"What! But I feel fine…," she said, but her voice faded as her head started to ache, and images swirled in her mind without context or sense, like the most vivid nightmare. And she knew immediately that her time sense was gone, because it was all hitting her at once; a cacophony of sights and sounds and sensations. It was too much… 

In the distance she could still hear Rose talking to her. What was she saying? It seemed important, but she was so far away. 

She found herself maneuvered into a chair. Rose was right in front of her and the Doctor concentrated. 

And then Rose's right hand was on her shoulder. "Stay with me, Doctor!" she implored. "And remember …." 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wherein many questions are answered. _Andiamo!_

## Chapter Eight 

The Doctor was falling. Images of people, places, monsters and more overwhelmed her, swirling through her mind for what felt like eons. 

Finally, her time sense kicked in, and she began to relive a vast series of moments, this time arranged in order, and she recognized them for what they were — memories. 

* * *

_Dressed in Victorian velvet and a silk cravat, he is sitting reading "The Time Machine" with his cup of tea. He finishes the book, and gets up from the upholstered armchair. He has an uneasy feeling about the Eye of Harmony and goes to check on it when he spots a glistening droplet on the edge of the Eye. He bends down to inspect it more closely and it shines, diamond-bright, and leaps into his eye — he claws at it, trying to get it out, but it's too late. He collapses next to the Eye, and passes out._

_He wakes up and looks around, but everything is strange and new. Where is he? Who is he? All he can remember is that he's called the Doctor. There is a word for this … what is it? Amnesia?_

_In a daze, he finds himself operating the controls as if he'd done it a million times before. The TARDIS starts up, and stops a minute later. The Doctor runs out and opens the door, and finds himself in a junkyard. In London, he is certain. A faded sign is propped against one wall. TOTTERS LANE YARD, I.M. FOREMAN, PROP. It's oddly familiar, and yet not._

_He's apparently materialized near a frightened young woman in a standoff with several men. He listens for a minute, long enough to know that these men are trying to get the woman addicted to drugs. He intervenes, pulling the woman into the TARDIS, and they escape._

_The Doctor crosses his own timeline seven times, each time meeting one of his previous selves to recover the memories of each._

_He continues in this long-haired, Victorian incarnation for a long time, but after a while, his adventures begin to trend darker, portending a great war; a war that was and is and will be fought across the whole of time and space._

_His greatest enemy returns — the Daleks. He cuts his hair and trades his velvet coat for the military uniform of Gallifrey, and becomes a soldier. He fights for so long, time loses all meaning. He has to make a terrible choice in the end, between his own people and the rest of the Universe. He chooses the Universe; it's the right choice. He knows that as he regenerates. But the gravity of his decision and the grief of its consequences weigh on him into his next life, and he struggles with overwhelming guilt._

_***_

_As a tall man in black leather and denim, the Doctor hears a disturbance as he is passing by the basement of Henriks on his way to the roof with a special explosive. It's Rose! And she's trapped by a group of Autons. He grabs her hand and says "Run!"_

_Scenes fly by in swift succession: the end of the Earth; a ghostly Christmas in Victorian Cardiff; the Slitheen infiltrating 10 Downing Street, and "I could save the world, but lose you"; the lone Dalek that changed because of Rose._

_Against his better judgment, he takes her back to the day she lost her father, and she can't stop interfering to save her dad's life. Of course she can't. But then the Reapers come, and history starts to unravel — will be destroyed if he can't stop them. But in the end, it's Rose's father, Pete, who sacrifices himself to save the world._

_The Doctor and Rose follow a mauve alert into World War II, and meet Jack Harkness, a former Time Agent posing as a Captain in the RAF. He travels with them after sacrificing his time ship for the greater good._

_Too soon afterward, the Daleks return. They were never really gone. The Doctor and Rose are separated. "Rose, I'm coming to get you." He sends Rose back home, but she opens the TARDIS, looks into her heart, and comes back to the Doctor as a golden goddess. She can't live like this; he has to take the Vortex out of her. He succumbs to the temptation, and kisses her, knowing it's their first and his last. The Vortex swirls around them, and then inside him, and he sees everything — all that is, all that was, and all that could be. He understands his place in the Universe, and finally knows peace._

_***_

_Suddenly, he's a new man; a skinny, ridiculously pretty man. Dressed in borrowed jim jams, he fights the Sycorax leader. He wins and banishes them. Fleeing, the Sycorax ship is destroyed by Torchwood, acting under orders from Harriet Jones. That night, ash falls around the TARDIS. Rose takes his new, new hand, and they travel onwards together._

_They land in a field of apple grass, and are summoned to a hospital with cat nurses, encountering an old enemy._

_In Scotland, they meet none other than Queen Victoria. A werewolf chases them down a hall, hand in hand. It's beautiful and terrible, and he's even more desperately in love with her than ever. Sir Doctor and Dame Rose save the day, but at a cost: Torchwood._

_They find themselves stranded in another Universe, with a new version of Pete. They deal a heavy blow to the Cybermen there, and return to their home Universe._

_They land in a mining community under a black hole, and the TARDIS is lost. Searching for his ship, the Doctor descends to the bottom of the mines, where the devil waits in chains for a traveler to free him; the Doctor does, having found his faith in Rose. And that faith is rewarded. Rose and the Doctor are reunited against all odds. He swings her into a hug that ends in a celebratory kiss. Who are they, really? "Oh, the stuff of legend," he says, smiling at her proudly. When they're alone again at last, there's another hug, and more kisses, and finally, he leads her to his bedroom._

_In the days that follow, he stays with her every second he can, and she promises him forever. But a storm is coming._

_The Cybermen return, masquerading as ghosts, then millions of Daleks escape a Time Lord prison ship. The Doctor banishes the monsters to the Void, but Rose starts to fall too, and it's only Pete's foresight and luck that save her, as they wink to the other Universe. She's gone for good this time, and losing her hurts even more than he'd imagined._

_He finally finds a tiny hole, just big enough to send a projection through. "I'm burning up a sun just to say goodbye." She confesses in tears that she loves him. "And I suppose, if it's my last chance to say it, Rose Tyler…." But in a cruelly ironic twist, the Time Lord loses track of time, and leaves the words hanging._

_Two years pass with Donna, then Martha, and finally Donna again joining the Doctor. The years pass in a blur, and he can only keep track sometimes by recalling the people he met and the adversaries he faced._

_The Daleks return, because they always do. For one shining moment, he thinks he's going to be reunited with his lost love, but the Universe is never that kind. He starts to regenerate after a Dalek's weapon delivers a fatal jolt. Diverting the regeneration energy into his handy spare hand, he heals himself. But he also sets in motion a series of events that generates a new Doctor._

_They save all of reality this time, and the Doctor and all of his friends tow the Earth back through hyperspace to its proper location. They all take turns piloting the TARDIS, allowing the rest of the group to sleep._

_Finally, it's just the Doctor and his almost-twin, and Rose has drifted off to sleep on the jumpseat. "You could give her what I can't. Her family. Children. A safe life," the Doctor in brown pinstripes whispers, half in insistence, half in bitter jealousy. "That's not what she wants, and you know it," says the man in blue and maroon. "Besides, I'm not about to just sit around at home." The Doctor in brown flies the TARDIS a little more aggressively. Blue sighs at himself. "We need to give her the choice."_

_And they do, in the end. Rose chooses the Doctor who tells her he loves her. She kisses him, and he wraps himself around her, even more hot-blooded than she is. They break apart as they hear the TARDIS fade into the Vortex for the last time._

_***_

A voice starts to speak in the Doctor's mind, and she realizes it's Rose — Rose, with her fingers on the Doctor's temples, talking to her in the present, and she can hear her, but she can't escape her own mind's relentless surge of memories. As Rose speaks to her, her mind calms, and she allows the familiar voice to guide her. 

* * *

"He left us a piece of TARDIS coral that Donna told us how to grow in just a few years. You took my hand, and we rode to London in a Vitex zeppelin. We were exhausted, dead on our feet when we finally got to my flat, but you curled up next to me in my bed — our bed — and we slept until sunset the next day."

“I remember," the Doctor thought. "You woke me up with a kiss. We made love, and it was a revelation, the difference that being part human made — and I felt like it was worth everything that had brought us together again.”

"It was the same for me. I couldn't get close enough to you. And that was when you first talked to me about telepathy, do you remember? You couldn't stop talking about it, you were so nervous that you might not be able to do it anymore."

“Ahhh, and brilliant woman that you are, you dove right in like a gannet — without a splash, and deep beneath the surface of my mind, as if you'd been doing it for years. Right past my defenses, and I was so afraid you would see what I was, what I had done, and leave me. And instead you wrapped yourself around me like the softest whisper.”

"Course I did. I know you. And I love you. Do you remember the rest?" 

“It's not quite clear….”

"Let me help you," said Rose. 

And in her mind, the Doctor nodded. 

* * *

"Days passed in a blur, becoming weeks and then months as we adjusted to life together again,” Rose said in the Doctor’s mind. “I went back to working for Torchwood, and you joined me, splitting your time between research and fieldwork.

"That was where it all went wrong in the end. Three years after we returned, you were badly hurt in a confrontation with a new group of aliens in Cardiff. Torchwood thought it was an invasion, but the Ehruan had actually made an emergency landing, hoping to refuel at the Rift. You tried to get between the two groups and explain, but you were shot. I ran to you as you collapsed, but it was too late. You were dying.”

"Their high priestess, Adarsha, came over, raising both her hands so we could see she was unarmed. She put her hands on your chest. And you regenerated into the woman you are now. I was still in shock from watching you being shot, but Adarsha explained that you have a kinship with them that let her grant your regeneration, and give you a second heart again. When the Ehruan had finished refueling, she said goodbye and we promised to visit when we were able, when our new TARDIS was ready for a long trip."

The Doctor’s memories coalesced, and she spoke in Rose’s mind. "That first night we were alone together, I was so nervous that you might not want me anymore as a woman. But you just kissed me and asked me if I was all right."

"Doctor, I said I was going to stay with you forever, and that's what I meant. Doesn't matter so much what a gift is wrapped in, it's the gift itself that's the main thing."

"Rose Tyler, you are extraordinary, in case I haven't told you recently."

"Well, not _very_ recently. Maybe the last time we flew the TARDIS together." 

“Oh, I remember the day our new TARDIS was ready!”

"What do you remember?"

“I’d made plans to take you out for a fancy dinner and dancing on Antares IV — brilliant dinners and dancing there! You wore that black midi dress with the cascade of silver studs and a frilly hem. And matching heels! You were gorgeous.”

“And _you_ wore a tuxedo with a waistcoat, and some very well-placed suspenders, and distracted me to no end.”

“I remember when we opened the TARDIS doors, my first impression was of hexagonal bronze structures interspersed with bright blue, and a tall, central crystal column that pulsed with amber light. It was beautiful. She made the same rhythmic hum my old girl always used to make, only it changed in pitch — she was saying hello! I went to the console and moved around it, pushing a slider into place, flipping an old-fashioned hourglass, pulling a lever, spinning a little translucent model of the TARDIS that lit up as it whirled... I toed the pedal of a long lever that jutted out from the underside of the console and held my hand out as a metal arm popped out and dispensed … a custard cream! And I offered it to you.”

"I was full-on charmed, and took the biscuit from you. But you’d slipped something underneath it — a pendant on a long chain. You scrunched up your nose that bloody adorable way you do. The next thing I knew, you were down on one knee, taking the pendant from my fingers and holding it out in front of me. You had a speech all prepared. It was very sweet, if a bit rambling. But very you! And then you asked me to marry you."

"And you said yes!" 

"Of course I said yes, Doctor! You put the chain around my neck, and that was it — we were engaged. It was a beautiful wedding."

"It was barmy, as I recall! We got an all-hands alarm from Torchwood, and everyone's mobiles went off at once, and then both brides and half the guest list disappeared! I thought your mother was going to slap me again."

"She slapped Dad instead! And we escaped the chaos and went on our honeymoon."

"Yes! We kept our word to Adarsha. But when the TARDIS settled into orbit around Ehru, a mauve alert pulsed through. Something was wrong down on the planet. A plague of loss: thousands of the Ehruan forgetting years or decades of their lives."

"I was worried, but you reassured me that the TARDIS would protect us. The TARDIS did protect me, but not you, Doctor — your DNA is too similar to the Ehruan, and you got sick; you nearly passed out while you were working on the cure with Tala. I'd gone with Dr. Ryvos to the old town to look for a missing person who'd left their home and wandered off when the plague erased their memories. Tala messaged us to let us know that you were ill, but by the time we got back, you'd vanished in the TARDIS."

"I remember now … I decided to go have a lie down. But I woke up in the console room — my old console room from lifetimes ago — the mauve emergency lights were flashing, and the last thing I remembered was saying goodbye to Grace, putting the TARDIS in the Vortex, and reading The Time Machine. I passed in front of a mirror, and discovered that I had regenerated into a woman, but I had no idea when or why. When I opened the front door, as the TARDIS suggested, a tall brunette woman in red robes was waiting not far from the doors. So I greeted her.”

Rose followed the Doctor back into her memory and watched as they saw it play out like a scene from a movie.

* * *

_"Hello, I'm the Doctor!"_

_"I'm Tala," she said, looking at me cautiously._

_"Nice to meet you, Tala. I saw your mauve alert. Can I help?"_

_"And you… You're a medical doctor, yes?"_

_"Yes! Well, among lots of other things. Philosophy, music, physics, Venusian Aikido, Tiddly-Winks… but you need a medical doctor?"_

_Tala said that the Capital City had been confined under quarantine for a novel virus that had caused an especially cruel kind of amnesia in hundreds of their people. The victims lost years of their lives, but what they forgot most, and couldn't recall even using their best treatments, were the people and events that had meant the most to them._

_She explained that none of the drugs that they had developed thus far were quite right: they had achieved partial and temporary memory restoration using three different formulations of an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor found on Ehru, but they'd had to watch as their patients slipped back years or decades to an earlier time. Worse, when they had told some of the patients that they had lost years of memories, they’d slipped even further back in time, as if they were caught in some kind of recursive loop._

_I said that what they needed to add was something with terpenes and laetones that would bind with the memories and make them stable._

_"Oh, hang on! I know just the thing," I told her. "Could I get samples of the drugs you've developed thus far?" Tala collected vials of the three drugs from the lab bench, and I continued, "I'm going to have to leave for a bit. I can picture the plant, but I can't seem to recall when exactly it lived in Earth’s past. Never mind that, though, the British Museum will have it! I know, because I left it there myself, in 1977."_

_Tala looked concerned._

_"But what about Rose?"_

_"Nah, it's not a rose, it's a type of ginkgo."_

_Tala's concern turned to alarm._

_"Not to worry, shan't be more than a few hours. Well, I say hours. Days, maybe. But no longer than that!"_

_"Doctor, I really think you should sit back down and wait for… for Dr. Ryvos. I don't think you're well."_

_"I feel fine! Really. And I should be getting on. So much to do!"_

_I trotted quickly to the TARDIS. Tala may have come after me, but I had already shut the door behind myself, and was at the console. I took the TARDIS into the Vortex, heading for London._

* * *

"That's about where I came in. Doctor ... I'm going to surface now."

"No wait! Don't go, Rose."

"You can follow me! I need you to follow me. Will you do that?" 

"Yes."

"Good. Don't forget, you can surface on your own! You have to."

And with that warning, Rose's voice, and her comforting presence, disappeared.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Circular art excerpted from the final artwork by nowrunalong.

## Chapter Nine

The Doctor was looking for something. It was dark here in the basement of the British Museum, and she'd lost something precious. She looked ahead, and as far as her eyes could see, there were nothing but dusty old cabinets. But she knew, somehow, that none of them contained what she was looking for. Behind her, there was only darkness. 

She looked to the left and right, and to the left, far away, there came the sound of voices — interested adults and excited children. And far in the distance, the Doctor could see the outline of a closed door. 

Off to her right, equally far away, there was a doorway with a dim light beyond. 

She paused. Which way to go? 

She heard a scream to the left, and then more screams, and instinct told her to run to the door, to go help the people who were so frightened. She started to run that way. 

But she slowed down, and stopped just shy of the door. Her hearts hurt. She turned around, and saw, much smaller and dimmer now, the open doorway. There was still a light beyond, but it was shimmering now, like molten gold. 

Suppressing her instincts, the Doctor turned a deaf ear to the screaming, and ran towards the light. It wasn't getting any brighter, but she just ran faster. 

She barreled through the doorway and shut the metal lattice behind her with a clang. There were four buttons on the wall to the right of the closed lattice. She pushed the button next to the numeral three, and rode the elevator to the top. 

* * *

The Doctor struggled to the surface of her mind, her eyes finally fluttering open. Rose was right there, resting her forehead against hers, right hand gently cupping her face. "Rose," she said, her voice gravelly as if she hadn't used it for years. 

Rose drew back, looking at her in relief and joy. "Doctor! You're all right? You remember?" 

She nodded, exhausted as if she'd run a marathon and fought a battle, which she supposed she sort of had done. “You wield a mean jet injector," she said weakly. 

Rose hugged her tightly, as best she could with one free arm, as the Doctor's arms came up around her, and they embraced for a long moment, Rose tucking her face into the Doctor's shoulder. 

"I'm all right now, Rose. I'm back."

"What have I told you about wandering off," Rose half laughed, half sobbed into the Doctor's neck. 

"Thought that was my line." The Doctor hugged her tighter and rubbed her back soothingly. "I'm so sorry for what I put you through."

"S'alright. You're here now."

Rose pulled back, and a pendant escaped the confines of her shirt. The Doctor eyed it sharply, then captured it in midair, looking at it more closely; it was a platinum disk deeply engraved in Circular Gallifreyan with the word "Forever," and set with six clear white star diamonds. 

She felt under her own shirt, and brought out an identical pendant. She looked at Rose, mouth open, then grinned widely. 

"We're really married! Blimey… I was wondering why I had this pendant!" 

Rose laughed, a startled bark that trickled off into peals of slightly hysterical laughter. 

"I can't believe I forgot," the Doctor said ruefully. "Forgive me?"

"Shh, there's nothing to forgive," Rose said. "It wasn't your fault, it was the virus."

"You're amazing, you know that, Rose Tyler?" 

Rose flushed and half bit her lip. She was irresistible, so the Doctor didn't resist. She took her love's face in her hands and kissed her. 

Rose's heartbeat ricocheted around her chest, and she kissed the Doctor back until they were both breathless. She pulled back, brown eyes gazing into hazel and kissed her wife again, softly biting her lower lip and licking delicately into her mouth. The Doctor moaned and kissed her harder, threading her fingers into Rose's hair, drawing a whimper from her. Rose had set one knee on the chair next to her, and was halfway into the Doctor's lap when a bell chimed at the door. The two women reluctantly separated, trying to calm their breathing, and Rose stood up next to the chair just in time for Dr. Ryvos to enter, none the wiser. 

"I'm sorry to disturb you, but it's so late — everyone else has gone for the night, and I wanted to be sure you were all right."

The Doctor got up slowly and faced him. "Everything is fine."

"Doctor! And… your memories?" 

"They're all restored, thanks to Rose." The Doctor smiled at her as if she'd hung the stars. 

"Excellent! I will arrange a hotel for you tonight, if you wish?"

Rose and the Doctor looked at each other, then at Dr. Ryvos. 

"That's very kind of you," said Rose, "But we just want to sleep in our own bed." 

"I quite understand," he said quietly, picking up the bag of remaining jet injectors and walking behind them. 

They exited the room into the night air, the door, now green, sliding shut behind them. 

"Shall we?" said the Doctor, holding out her left hand towards Rose and wiggling her fingers in invitation. 

Rose grinned and took her hand, and they threaded their fingers together and walked into the Ministry and to the TARDIS with Dr. Ryvos. 

The Doctor unlocked the TARDIS, then half turned to say goodnight. 

"You aren't going anywhere, are you?" said Dr. Ryvos, sounding concerned. 

"No, not tonight," said the Doctor. "We still have work to do!" 

"Goodnight then, Doctor and Rose," said Dr. Ryvos. 

* * *

The two women entered the TARDIS, hands separating just long enough to get inside before they rejoined. And they both stopped dead in their tracks and stared. The TARDIS had redecorated. 

The inner walls were covered with six-sided bronze rings, each the size of a manhole cover and spanned by two Y-shaped struts. Bright blue rondels circled the interior. But these details were overwhelmed by a tall, central crystal column that shone with amber light, and four more huge, amber, jointed crystals that loomed in the great half-spherical interior. The central column was punctuated by a circular console marked with deep parallel ruts and filled with an astonishing assortment of controls, levers, buttons, and oddments. The rhythmic hum that reverberated through the space momentarily changed in pitch, as the TARDIS welcomed her Doctor home.

The Doctor looked at Rose and grinned, and started walking over the bright hexagonal floor tiles that marked the way to the console, eager to investigate the new layout. But a hand stopped her and gently pulled her back. 

"Not going anywhere, are you? Not planning to stay up playing with the new interface for hours and hours?" Rose teased. 

The Doctor looked at the floor for a moment, then raised her head and gazed at Rose with a fire in her eyes Rose hadn't seen for days and days. 

"No. Not tonight. Not any night from now on, I promise. They're all yours, Rose." 

A slim arm went around the Doctor's waist, and pulled her close. She looked into her wife's deep brown eyes and was staggered. 

"Rose…." she breathed. The younger woman was looking at her like she was an oasis after days of hot and dusty travel in the desert, like she might be the answer to every question she'd ever had. She closed her eyes, overwhelmed by an emotion she couldn't remember feeling, it had been so long. 

Soft lips covered hers. The Doctor focused on all of her love and gratitude as she kissed her back. A low moan from Rose reverberated through her torso, spreading electric warmth down her spine. She deepened the kiss, hands cupping Rose's jaw, fingers automatically seeking her temple. Relief, love, and growing arousal surged through their connection. Rose nibbled at her lips, and when she parted them, the young woman slipped her tongue into the Doctor's mouth, stroking fiercely. The Doctor ran her hands up through Rose's hair, clutching at the back of her head and moaning, forgetting everything but the wet heat of her lover's mouth and the raw emotion they were both swept up in. 

Rose suddenly cried out, and it was a moment before the Doctor registered that it was a cry of pain. She immediately pulled back, and looked at her in dismay. 

"Sorry, it's my shoulder. Not as much better as I thought it was," Rose lamented. 

The Doctor smiled at her ruefully. "Don't apologize. It's my fault for momentarily forgetting your injuries. To be fair, you distracted me," she murmured, kissing Rose's forehead.

Rose smiled and leaned into the kiss. 

"We should get you to bed, it's late," the Doctor said regretfully. 

"Only if you're coming with me."

The Doctor groaned. "I'd love to come with you, that's the problem!" 

Rose rolled her eyes and laughed, grabbed her hand and tugged the Doctor behind her as she made her way to their bedroom. 

They turned the covers down on the bed, and since Rose's arm was still in the immobilizer, the Doctor went to Rose's side to help her remove her trainers and socks. 

Rose stood back up with the Doctor's help, and flexed her toes, enjoying the sensation of bare feet on the warm, fluffy rug on her side of the bed. 

"Thanks. I could use a hand with my jeans, too." Rose flushed and swallowed hard as the Doctor felt under the hem of her T-shirt, unbuttoned and unzipped her jeans, then knelt down as she shimmied them down her legs. Rose stepped out of them and sat down on the edge of the bed. The Doctor stood up again and bent at the waist, putting one arm around Rose's back and the other under her knees, and gently lifted her and settled her on the bed. She pulled the covers up over her, then went around to her own side of the bed and took off her boots, socks and trousers. Next came her sweatshirt, T-shirt and bra, as Rose tried not to ogle her wife too much. She breathed a small sigh of relief when the Doctor put a new T-shirt on before slipping into bed beside her. 

The Doctor reached out for Rose's hand and squeezed it in reassurance. "Rose, it's fine. We're not going to do anything tonight except sleep, all right?" 

"Yeah, I know. I wish we could, though," she said, forlorn. 

"Another couple of days in the immobilizer," the Doctor replied. "And we're lucky it's not another month!" 

"I know, I know! I'll stop whinging now," she laughed. 

The Doctor leaned over and pressed her lips chastely against Rose's for an unchaste length of time. 

"Night, Rose," the Doctor said, lying down again and pulling the covers up to her chest. 

Rose sighed and closed her eyes. "Night, Doctor."

The Doctor reached under the covers with her bare feet for Rose's toes, and stroked up her calf and back down. 

"Doctor, that's not helping!" Rose half laughed, half yelled. 

"Right, sorry," the Doctor said contritely. She reached out her hand this time, waiting for Rose's fingers to entwine with hers before squeezing gently and then relaxing. "Goodnight, Rose. And thank you for saving me yet again. I love you."

Rose swallowed a lump in her throat. "Love you, too."

The stars came out on the ceiling as the light dimmed, and the hum of the TARDIS soothed them both as they eased into sleep.

* * *

In the morning, as they sat in the kitchen eating breakfast, the Doctor cleared her throat and Rose raised one eyebrow and looked at her. 

"What is it?" 

"I was just wondering what happened when I left you here without the TARDIS. How, by all the tin gods did you find me? And how did you get to 1978? I thought the Ehruan didn't have time travel?" 

"They don't," said Rose around a bite of omelet, "I got a lift."

"What!? From who?" 

"Ok, when you left, Dr. Ryvos told me there was a rumor that another time traveler had come to Ehru the day before you left. His name is Javik Thane. Dr. Ryvos said that Javik had gotten the mauve alert, but had said that he couldn't interfere with the pandemic. He was just looking for someone. So I decided to go looking for him."

The Doctor tensed at the mention of Thane looking for someone, but Rose put her hand on hers and intertwined their fingers. 

"It'll be all right," she soothed. The Doctor nodded. 

"I found him in a bar. And… it was Jack Harkness. His real name is Javik Thane." 

"What?! Captain Jack? In a bar? Oh well, that part makes sense. But on Ehru?"

"I know! But he really is a Time Agent. And he was looking for you. When I met him, he was trying to pick up the bartender. Only I don't think she's into blokes, so that was going nowhere."

"Wait, why was he looking for me?" 

"I don't know. Something about a fixed point in time. But I wouldn't worry about him."

"So he has a Time Agency ship — must be a long-range scout ship," the Doctor murmured to herself. "Why shouldn't I worry about him again? Wait, how did you convince him to give you a lift?" 

"I told him that I know you, and that I knew where you were going."

"You what!?" 

"Well, he was looking for you, and I was looking for you, and thanks to Tala, I knew where you were headed, and that it was after 1977. So I convinced him that you owe me for a debt, and said we should combine forces."

"Oooh, clever girl!" 

Rose grinned. “So, it was sort of convenient that he ran off and we got separated.”

“I’ll say! But we're going to have to find him, before he finds us."

"Yeah, wouldn't do for him to surprise us."

The Doctor looked thoughtful for a moment. "I don't think he will, actually. Do you remember when we first met Jack, he said the Time Agency had stolen two years of his memories? Well, what if he lost the same span of memories in this Universe, but it wasn't the Time Agency this time? What if it was the pandemic?" 

Rose's jaw dropped. "Oh my God, you're right! You must be. Or he would have caught up with us by now."

"Exactly. Jack wasn't protected by the TARDIS. We're going to have to find him and give him the medicine."

* * *

After breakfast, Rose and the Doctor met Tala and Dr. Ryvos, and both of their assistants, in the great room at the Ministry of Health and Healing. The Ehruan had already filled all the jet injectors with the green drug the Doctor had synthesized. Each of the six of them took a large bag of jet injectors, and they walked together to the clinic, which was to the west of the small row of hospital rooms they had visited the night before. 

Knee-high red grass and tall, golden-leaved trees with white and black bark lined the tiled walkways. Alien birds trilled back and forth high in the trees. Rose spotted a furry creature with a black back, red belly, and white stripe running the length of its body, hanging upside down from a branch by its rear claws, eating a seed pod. 

The building was another huge oval, like the Ministry itself, but it had the same green crescent as the hospital rooms from the night before. The room was full of people, dressed in silk or linen shirts and masks in a rainbow of bright shades, and linen trousers or skirts in more subdued colors. They were waiting in six long lines, individuals and families standing several feet apart from each other. And there were six curtained circles at the head of each line. 

Dr. Ryvos passed around five Ministry communicators that to Rose looked like smartphones, and showed the five of them how to have patients check off the right agreement and sign it on the device. Then they each sat at a small table at the head of their line of patients, and put their bag of jet injectors on the table in front of them. 

The first patient in each line stepped forward and sat down next to one of them, and was asked to sign the electronic permission form, and then they received an injection in their upper arm. If they were there with family, a family member was asked to come sit with them while their memories returned. 

And so the day went. At mid-day they were brought a lunch of meat and vegetable pockets and hard, salty cheese and mint tea. Ten hours after they went into the clinic, they were done for the day. Rose sat back with a groan. It hadn't been easy doing this work with only one working arm, and she was tired and sore. 

Familiar hands rested gently on her shoulders. She covered the hand on her left shoulder with her right hand and turned to look at her wife. "You're a sight for sore eyes," she smiled. 

"Ready to go home?" the Doctor asked. 

"Mmhm. What's for dinner?" she joked. But the Doctor seemed to be taking her question seriously. 

"Well… with all the local restaurants closed, if I'm cooking that probably limits us to porridge or toast and jam," she said ruefully. 

"How have you survived this long without knowing how to cook?" Rose wondered aloud. 

"Oh, but I can make an amazing banana daiquiri!" the Doctor interrupted. 

"Asked and answered," Rose sighed. 

They walked back to the TARDIS, Rose half leaning on the Doctor, who steered them in the door and up the steps to the kitchen. The Doctor settled Rose in a chair at the table, then puttered around the kitchen, opening the fridge and perusing a cupboard and then pulling out ingredients. She tossed some greens with slices of grilled chicken and croutons and Caesar dressing. She set Rose's place in front of her, then sat down with her own plate. 

"Go on, Rose. Dig in!" the Doctor urged. 

They ate dinner slowly, the Doctor telling Rose stories about her questionable cooking experiments over the centuries, and Rose trying not to laugh at the Doctor's disappointment over not being able to suss out the secret of making jelly babies, despite having won the recipe from the chief confectioner at Bassett's in a cribbage game in 1918. 

"Rose Tyler, are you laughing at me?" the Doctor demanded, after her wife could no longer conceal her amusement. 

"Haaa…no?" said Rose with tears in her eyes. 

The Doctor looked even more disappointed at this, which made Rose giggle even more, but at last she relented, reaching across the table for the Doctor's hands. 

"I'm just so happy that you can remember everything again. I missed you."

"I know. I'm sorry — I should have guessed that the TARDIS would have trouble protecting me from this virus, if the Ehruan are so closely related to me that they could grant me a regeneration."

"Doctor… there's a human expression you may have heard — there's no use crying over spilled milk."

"Yes. Especially if you have a cat," the Doctor added earnestly. 

Rose stared at her for a moment. "You are so alien," she laughed. "Come on, I'm knackered — let's go to bed."

In the morning, the Doctor helped Rose remove her immobilizer and had her run through some range of motion exercises. 

"Does it hurt at all?" 

"No! Not really — just a bit stiff."

"That is excellent news. I think you can keep it off today, if you promise to take it easy."

"Ok! Anything to have two hands again," Rose smiled as she put both arms around the Doctor and ran her hands up her back. She leaned in and brushed her hair against the side of the Doctor's face, then twisted her head to kiss her neck. 

"Hnnggh… Rose!" she whined. "We need to get to the clinic by hour seven. And we're not going to get there at all if you don't stop that."

"Just reminding you what you're missing," Rose said teasingly, lightly nipping the Doctor's neck where it met her shoulder. 

"Nothing wrong with my memory now, I promise!" said the Doctor somewhat desperately, pulling back to raise an eyebrow at her. 

Rose grinned and got dressed. 

* * *

They arrived at the clinic at the seven o'clock bell, and said hello to Tala and Dr. Ryvos in passing. The crowds seemed even larger than the day before, and Rose began to despair that they would ever get through everyone. Rose got her communicator and the bags of jet injectors out of a large drawer in the table, and got started. 

Five hours later, a break for the noon meal was announced. Unlike the day before, long tables were set up, and food was brought out and set on the tables. 

But before they could get started, a procession arrived with Adarsha and four clinic staff members they hadn't seen before. 

"Doctor, Rose! It's an honor to greet you. I understand your honeymoon was interrupted by our situation here. I'm so sorry, but I thank you for all of your help."

"Adarsha, it's lovely to see you again," said Rose, stepping forward to clasp her hands warmly. "And don't worry — we're used to the interruptions." 

"Par for the course, really," added the Doctor. 

"I have good news for you in that regard," Adarsha said. "We now have enough recovered staff to work in the clinic in your place, so you are free to return to your trip with a clear conscience."

"Oh, that's good to hear!" Rose said. "I was worried that one more day of giving injections and I wouldn't ever be able to move my thumb again," she joked. 

Adarsha smiled and gestured to the staff that had accompanied her, and they divided the communicators and contents of the bags and went to start distributing the medicine. 

"Doctor, you are well named," Adarsha said, raising her voice so that everyone in the room could hear. "And in recognition of your extraordinary assistance in our time of need, I am pleased to extend to you an additional twelve regenerations."

The Doctor gaped at Adarsha, then looked at Rose, who was grinning widely, then around at the crowd, who had burst into spontaneous applause. Someone cheered, and the Doctor saw to her astonishment that it was Bassui. 

The applause and cheers eventually tapered off and then stopped, as Adarsha put her hands on the Doctor's shoulders. 

"Are you ready?" 

"Wait, what about Rose? I couldn't have helped you if it weren't for her. Surely she deserves a reward as well?"

Rose took the Doctor's hand and said, "Adarsha asked me what I wanted. I'm going to live for a long time now. I just want to be with you." 

The Doctor's chest hurt, as if her hearts were suddenly too big to fit inside, and she squeezed her wife's hand, unable to speak. Rose smiled at her, then let her hand go. The Doctor looked back at Adarsha, and nodded. 

The priestess placed both hands on the Doctor's upper chest, above her hearts, and closed her eyes. The Doctor felt warmth spread from Adarsha's palms downward and outward, engulfing her whole body. It seemed to go on for a long time, but in reality, only a minute had passed when Adarsha opened her eyes and spread out her hands. 

"It is done!" she smiled. 

Rose hugged the Doctor, who felt herself flush as the building filled with applause again. She hugged Rose back, taking her hand again as they drew apart. 

"Thank you," she said to the priestess, for once speechless. 

"Please, join us in a celebratory feast," Adarsha said, gesturing to the long tables piled high with Ehruan delicacies. 

They both took their plates and began to select from the array of dishes. A line formed behind them, and they grinned at each other. Large round tables were brought out and set up for everyone to eat at, and they were joined at their table by Dr. Ryvos and his assistant, Tala and her assistant, Bassui, Adarsha, and President Takkara. Conversation went slowly at first, while everyone was eating, but became more frequent as the savory course was finished and dessert appeared. Everyone at their table was cheerful and pleasant company, and the meal passed too quickly. 

Finally, the Doctor nodded at Rose, and they both stood up to take their leave. The rest of the people at their table stood up, and slowly, the rest of the room. 

"We must be going," said the Doctor. "We need to help our friend Jack recover his memories from this plague."

Everyone said goodbye, and Tala and Dr. Ryvos hugged them and thanked them again. 

"Go with my blessing, both of you." Adarsha said simply. "You are always welcome on Ehru."

They turned to go, hand in hand, and the Doctor somehow managed to escape the building without expending one of her regenerations on embarrassment. They'd almost made it back to the TARDIS when Rose stopped. 

"What is it?" the Doctor asked. 

"We forgot to take a dose of the medicine for Jack," Rose said. 

"Who do you think you're married to?" the Doctor smiled, pulling a jet injector filled with green liquid from her pocket. "Perfect memory, me!" 

Rose laughed in delight, and bumped her shoulder against hers. 

"No pain from that shoulder?" the Doctor asked with interest. 

"No, none," Rose replied, as they arrived at the TARDIS. 

The Doctor grinned, and unlocked the door. 


	10. Chapter 10

## Chapter Ten 

The Doctor went to the console and frowned. 

“So, where are we headed now, Doctor? London, 1978?” 

“Nah, we can guess where Jack would have gone when he realized he’d lost so many memories.”

Rose furrowed her brow. “We can? Oh wait! He thinks the Time Agency stole his memories!”

“Exactly! He’ll almost certainly go back to the Time Agency in the 51st century.”

"But we know the Time Agency didn't have anything to do with losing his memories in this Universe. And even if they had, Jack wouldn't get anywhere accusing them, because he didn't before. Right?" 

"Hmm. That's true. So we need to figure out where he would have gone next. I wasn't too eager to visit the Time Agency anyway, if I'm honest, not with them looking for me. I haven't had the most pleasant experiences with them in the past. Now, if I were Jack, where would I go next?" the Doctor said, beginning to pace the floor in front of the console. 

Rose frowned, thinking. Then put out an arm to halt the Doctor's pacing, looking at her with excitement. 

Simultaneously, they shouted, "The London Blitz!" 

"Yes! We know at some point he's going to steal a Chula ambulance, and transport it to the height of the Blitz, but we don't know where he stole it from. So, the Blitz it is! And you won't have to hang from a barrage balloon to find him again. We know where he hangs out at night."

"The Officer's Club?" asked Rose. 

"The Officer's Club," confirmed the Doctor. 

"Guess we'll have to get dressed up for that," said Rose with a glint in her eye.

"Wardrobe room?" the Doctor suggested, grinning. 

" _Andiamo!_ " said Rose, laughing, taking the Doctor's hand in hers and pulling her towards the stairs to the inside of the TARDIS. 

The central column in the wardrobe room with its branching staircase was unchanged from what Rose remembered, and she confidently led the Doctor to the area where the 1940s clothing was. 

"Here are the uniforms. Do you want to dress as a member of the WAAF?" Rose asked, lifting one of the uniform jackets from the rack. She turned around to find the Doctor wrinkling her nose and frowning at the skirt below it. 

"All right, what about these to go with it? Rose danced past the Doctor to grab one of the smallest pairs of RAF uniform trousers. The Doctor's eyes lit up, and she smiled and took the jacket and trousers from her. 

"Perfect!" the Doctor declared, and kissed her wife before sitting down to take off her boots. 

Rose slipped behind the rack to where she knew the dresses were, and flipped through the choices until she found a dress that made her eyes light up. She even let out a small squee of excitement. 

"Everything all right back there?" the Doctor piped up. 

"Fine!" Rose replied, holding the dress up so she could see it properly. She grinned, and quickly stripped off her trainers, T-shirt, bra, and jeans. 

The Doctor was smoothing down her uniform when she heard the clothes on the rack part and then swish back together. She turned around, and suddenly, she couldn't breathe. Rose was wearing a bright red, flared evening dress with a plunging V-neck. 

She stood frozen in place as Rose walked towards her, swinging her hips in what might have been a deliberate attempt to get the Doctor's respiratory bypass to engage. If so, it was working. 

"Rose…," the Doctor gasped. 

Rose cast a coquettish look her way. "You look gorgeous. I always did have a thing for uniforms," she laughed. 

As if in a dream, the Doctor reached out with one manicured finger and placed the tip at the bottom of the V-neck, curled her finger into the fabric, and tugged it outward experimentally. She slid her other hand behind Rose's neck and up into her hair as she leaned forward and brought their lips crashing together. 

Rose kissed her back desperately, moaning as the Doctor's fingers stroked the back of her neck. 

The Doctor tugged again at the V-neck, but this time she slid her fingers underneath the stretchy fabric, freeing Rose's left breast and cupping its weight in her hand. She ran her thumb over the exposed nipple, circling then flicking it lightly with her thumbnail until it pebbled into hardness. 

Rose let out a shuddering breath and clung to the Doctor. She nibbled at the Doctor's bottom lip, distracting her long enough to grab her lapels and push the uniform jacket off her shoulders and onto the floor. 

But the Doctor was back on Rose in the blink of an eye, releasing her other breast from the confines of the dress and lowering her mouth to it. She sucked at the nipple, then trapped it between her tongue and the roof of her mouth, flicking the tip of her tongue against it mercilessly until Rose cried out and hugged her closer. 

Rose ran warm fingers through the Doctor's hair, then down to her shoulders, massaging strong muscles. 

The Doctor trembled under the attention. She stood up fully to snog Rose again, then slid one hand behind her neck and kissed her way down, squeezing her left breast. She sucked at the join of Rose's neck and shoulder hard enough to leave a mark. 

Rose felt her knees go weak, but she managed to yank the Doctor's shirttail out of her waistband and run her hands under her shirt and over the warm skin. Moving around to the Doctor's front, she unbuckled her belt. She reached around her waist, then down with the fingertips of one hand, beneath the Doctor's waistband, then slid her whole hand down to cup one buttock and squeeze. 

The Doctor groaned and pulled away just long enough to suggest, "Bedroom?" 

Rose nodded. "Bedroom," she said throatily. 

The Doctor kissed her once more, then grabbed her hand and grinned at her. "Come on!" And they ran all the way to the bedroom, Rose giggling as her small breasts bounced freely along the way. 

The Doctor opened the bedroom door and gaped. The TARDIS had draped sheer blue curtains around their bed, creating a four-poster effect. The covers were already drawn back. And candles flickered everywhere there had been a free surface on their dresser, their nightstands, and the Doctor's desk. "Why you old softie!" she addressed the TARDIS. The candles flickered as if a breeze had blown through the room. The Doctor reached out her hand to test the heat of one candle. 

"They're artificial," she reported to Rose. "But very realistic. Well done, you!" she said to the TARDIS. She turned her attention back to Rose. "Now then, where were we?" she said. 

Rose smiled at her coyly, moving to embrace her loosely. "About here," she said, reaching inside the back of the Doctor's trousers to grip her bum and pull their hips together. 

"Yes, right, brilliant," groaned the Doctor, and kissed her. 

Rose ran her tongue over her lips, then swept the tip between them, begging entrance. The Doctor opened to her, and Rose delicately licked the roof of her mouth, making her moan. 

The Doctor reached around Rose to undo the small button at the back of her dress, and slowly pulled the zipper down. She helped Rose out of her sleeves and watched the red fabric cascade to the floor, leaving the young woman naked but for a pair of bright pink knickers. The Doctor looked at her, and concentrated on breathing, since that seemed to be a challenge at that moment. 

"Not fair," Rose complained. "This, off, now," she said, tugging at the Doctor's tunic. 

The Doctor busied herself with unbuttoning her shirt while Rose watched. She looked up when she was done, and Rose pushed it off her shoulders and down off her arms, revealing… an undershirt. 

"What is it with you and layers?" Rose laughed. 

"It came with the uniform!" the Doctor objected. 

"Well, it's coming off now. Come on, trousers, too!" Rose insisted. 

The Doctor quickly stripped off the undershirt and slid her trousers and pants down her legs, stepping out of them ungracefully as she tried not to take her eyes off of Rose. She stood up and moved towards her, but Rose held her off with one hand on her chest. 

"Wait, I want to look at you," she said. 

The Doctor acquiesced, standing naked while Rose looked her up and down appreciatively. 

"You are so beautiful," Rose sighed. 

"So are you," the Doctor said, half in a daze. 

Rose moved to hug her, but the Doctor raised her palm and stopped her. Rose frowned at this, but the Doctor smiled and held back the blue chiffon curtain surrounding the bed. 

"Get on the bed," the Doctor requested. 

Smiling, Rose climbed on top of the bed and lay on her back. But after a moment she turned partly towards the Doctor and tried to arrange herself as artfully as possible. From her wife's gobsmacked expression, she decided she'd been quite successful. She crooked a finger and the Doctor crawled on the bed, cat-like, until she was kneeling over her. 

She hooked her fingers in the sides of Rose's panties as she lifted her hips helpfully, pulled them down down her long legs and flung them aside. The Doctor lay down on top of Rose, upper weight on her elbows — breast to breast, belly to belly, thigh to thigh — and kissed her. 

Rose kissed her back, already breathing hard, and pushed a knee between the Doctor's legs, raising it until she encountered wetness at the apex. 

The Doctor cried out and pushed her hips down against Rose's knee, desperate for pressure. She rocked her hips back and forth once, twice, three times, before breaking off, breathing erratically. She backed down Rose's body, kneeling between her feet. She closed her eyes, making a telepathic request of her ship, and held out her hand for the small bottle of almond oil that appeared out of nowhere. 

She squeezed a small amount of oil into the palm of her hand, then closed the bottle and set it aside. She rubbed her hands together to warm the oil, then took Rose's right foot in between her hands and began to massage the oil into her heel, arch, the top of her foot, and her toes. She massaged the other foot, and then moved on to her slim, muscular calves. 

Rose moaned in pleasure as the Doctor relieved the tension in each part of her body, but as she got further up her legs, she was creating a delicious new tension between them. The Doctor reached Rose's center at last, and… kept right on going, around to her hips and up her torso. 

"Doctor, please!" Rose said petulantly. 

"Patience," the Doctor soothed, rubbing her stomach lightly. "It'll be worth the wait, I promise." She continued up to Rose's chest, spreading more oil in a swirly pattern with her palm. The cinnamon scent wafted up to Rose's nose and she breathed it in appreciatively; it was one of her favorites.

Just as Rose was beginning to relax, the Doctor covered an entire breast with one hand and pulled gently back with her fingers until they met at the nipple, tweaking it with just enough force to harden it almost painfully. The Doctor switched to the other breast, then covered each with a hand and suckled at each nipple in turn, driving Rose mad with want. The sensation was so intense, she moaned and arched her back. 

The Doctor moved to massage her right shoulder, her right arm and hand, and then gently went over her left side, being extra careful, just in case Rose wasn't as fully healed as she had let on. She kissed the scars from the bite, now barely visible, and the pendant that proclaimed their eternal partnership. The Doctor finished by massaging Rose's neck and head. She paused at her temples to send waves of love and desire through their connection. 

"Turn over, please," said the Doctor. 

"Wha'?" Rose replied in dismay. 

"Trust me," the Doctor insisted. 

Rose grumbled, but she did as her wife asked. 

The Doctor lightly oiled her back, and dug into her right shoulder, finding and working out two knots. She continued downward, using her thumbs on her lower back, and then got more oil and used the heels of her hands on her buttocks. 

Rose groaned as the Doctor released tension she hadn't realized she was holding there. 

The Doctor's thumbs skimmed the crease between her cheeks, delving deeper as she ran her hands downward, ending finally in wetness at her opening. 

"Please Doctor! I don't… I can't…." she choked out. 

The Doctor stroked hard up Rose's thighs, and when she encountered slickness before she even reached her center, she felt an answering flood of moisture between her own legs, and groaned. 

"Rose, please ... I need to see your face."

Rose flipped over on her back and sat up, reaching for her wife. The Doctor met her and kissed her mouth hungrily and then lay them both down on the bed. She pushed against one of Rose's thighs, encouraging her to spread her legs, and when she complied, she slid one, and then two fingers inside her, thrusting slowly as she continued to kiss her. Heat poured off of their skin in waves. The Doctor kissed her way down Rose's neck, lips to salted skin, as her arms came up around her, up to her shoulders, and pulled her closer. She slid her thumb up in search of the small nodule that would send her lover over the brink, stroking it ever so delicately, smiling against her mouth when Rose began to moan continuously. The candles flickered, seemingly in time with the beat of her hearts.

Rose extended her senses and concentrated on her wife, establishing their connection. She felt the Doctor's arousal, her desire to please her, and a love so strong it had sustained them through three regenerations. 

The Doctor drew back just enough to look at Rose, who let out guttural groans as the Doctor stroked her. 

"That's it, Rose, just let go." 

Rose moaned through two strong orgasms, and the Doctor stayed with her as they descended into ripples. 

Rose pulled her back on top of her, glad of the heat of her as she began to cool off. They kissed languidly, allowing Rose a moment to recover. The Doctor was taken by surprise when Rose rolled her over onto her back and slid down her body. The young woman eyed the Doctor greedily, as if she were a sumptuous dish, then parted her thighs with her hands and opened her with her thumbs, and feasted. 

The Doctor moaned and her whole body went taut. Rose had barely touched her and she was already so close. She clenched her eyes shut from the intensity and reached out blindly, calling out for her. 

Rose grabbed her hand and entwined their fingers, and the Doctor held on for dear life, reaching out instinctively for their connection. 

The Doctor felt Rose's excitement at her own spiraling arousal, but surrounding this burgeoning climax was love, and the certainty that she had never been more adored. She shattered, flying apart in pieces like prismatic shards of glass, knowing that Rose would be there to put her back together again. 

When she came back to herself, Rose was already by her side, stroking her stomach gently. The Doctor realized that her wife had had a third orgasm, just from giving her pleasure. 

"Rose," she whispered shakily, "I love you so much."

Rose smiled and kissed her, fingers cupping the right side of her face. "Love you too," she said, her voice as rough as her touch was soft. 

The Doctor pulled her halfway on top of her, holding her close. Rose snuggled even closer, curling her arm around the Doctor's middle. Sensation was giving way to sleep. 

"Goodnight, Love," she said groggily, drifting off. 

"Night, Doctor," Rose said, reaching down to pull the duvet up to their torsos. They cuddled under the covers, and slept. 

***

The Doctor woke up and stared at Rose for seven minutes, appreciating how lucky she was, before becoming bored and waking Rose up with a kiss. 

"Morning, Rose!"

Rose opened one eye dubiously. "What time is it?"

"Time to get up and find Jack!" the Doctor said brightly. 

"Doctor," Rose growled. 

"Er … Half past four? Relatively speaking."

Rose pulled the covers over herself, rolled over and dozed off again. 

Tentatively, the Doctor shook her shoulder. "But we did go to bed in the middle of the afternoon yesterday!"

Rose pushed her hand away. "You can wake me up at six, like a civilized person, and not a minute before," she said sternly. "With coffee."

Chastised, the Doctor got out of bed and pulled on her robe, and went to the kitchen to make coffee and breakfast for her wife. 

At precisely 6am, TARDIS time, the Rose was awakened by the Doctor calling out, "Roooose!" 

Rose groaned. "Oh God, is it six already?" 

"Yes! And look, there's coffee — and fresh fruit and cinnamon rolls!" The Doctor proffered the tray she was holding. 

Rose rolled towards the Doctor and the tray, and sat up at last. 

The Doctor looked pleased, and handed her a large mug of coffee. 

Rose drank the coffee and ate a few pieces of fruit and a cinnamon roll, and felt much more civilized. She stretched and got up, and hugged her wife. 

"Thank you for waiting until six, and for breakfast." 

"You're welcome. Ready to go find Jack?"

Rose drew back and kissed her. "As soon as I've had a shower."

The Doctor groaned.

"And an orgasm. Are you coming?" she said with that tongue-touched smile that had hooked the Doctor from their very first trip together. 

The Doctor perked up and nodded, following Rose into the ensuite. 

***

Two hours later they were back in the wardrobe room and the Doctor was rummaging through crates and boxes in an area marked with a dusty note that said, "To be organized," looking for a proper pair of World War II combat boots that she had _somehow_ overlooked the previous night. 

Rose was waiting on the bench that surrounded the spiral staircase, and had gotten distracted by her phone messages, so when the Doctor gleefully burst through the racks of clothes, she was genuinely startled — not the least when she saw what the Doctor was wearing. 

"That's not very World War II," Rose said with a smirk. 

"No! But isn't it brilliant?" the Doctor enthused. She was wearing a navy T-shirt with multi-colored stripes across the middle. Yellow suspenders held up cropped blue trousers above brown boots. The Doctor put her hands in the pockets of the long, pale gray coat that topped off the outfit and twisted side to side to model her new look. 

Rose smiled genuinely this time. "I think it's very you."

The Doctor beamed at her. 

"But we'd better get a move on, so put your WAAF uniform back on, and let's get going."

The Doctor looked momentarily disappointed, but Rose put down her phone and hugged her, sliding her arms around her under the coat, and the Doctor rallied, hugging her back. They stayed like that for a long moment, swaying together as if to music only they could hear. 

Reluctantly, they pulled apart, and the Doctor changed back into her World War II attire. Rose slipped her mobile into one of the Doctor's pockets, since the vintage dress she was wearing hadn't been designed with utility in mind. And hand in hand, the Doctor and Rose made their way to the control room. 


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, this story is done, after THREE YEARS!!
> 
> Thanks to everyone who has read, liked, or left a comment on this fic! You've gotten me through the posting process, which is sometimes the hardest thing for me. I'm so thankful for each and every one of you. <3

## Chapter Eleven 

The Doctor sent the TARDIS forward in time. While the TARDIS was traversing the Vortex, the Doctor explained her plan.

When they reached the 63rd century the Doctor would make a U-turn in the timestream, and approach Earth on the same trajectory she had used years ago in the prime universe when they had been returning to Earth from a holiday on a forest planet. If they were correct in their assumptions, Jack should be waiting along their flight path somewhere to launch the Chula hospital ship their way. 

"We just need to make one quick stop on the way," the Doctor announced. "Chula."

Rose looked at her worriedly. 

"It's ok, they're peaceful by then. And I need to pick something up. I'm collecting on a favor I did for one of their engineers."

The Doctor was true to her word, and they were on Chula less than an hour before they were back in the TARDIS. 

They had changed into their period 1941 outfits, and almost made it to Earth, and the Doctor was beginning to second-guess herself, when a cylindrical object popped up on the viewscreen, and the TARDIS sounded the mauve alert. 

They followed the wildly careening ship in to London, the Doctor setting their destination for February 19th, a few hours before they had landed in their prime universe encounter with the Chula medical ship. The Doctor landed in an alley near the Lime Green Station this time, where they knew they would be near both the officer's club and the Chula ship. 

The Doctor removed the long coat that had come with her uniform, and gave it to Rose to wear on top of her dress in the cold winter's night, and they left the TARDIS and walked quickly around to the front of the club. 

The guard at the door looked at the Doctor's rank insignia and her trousers, and raised an eyebrow. But the Doctor scowled at him, took her psychic paper out of her pocket and showed it to the man, and he hurriedly waved them both in. 

"What's it say this time?" asked Rose 

"Says I'm one of Princess Margaret's personal guards," said the Doctor. Rose laughed, and they went to find the bar. 

They each got a drink to carry around as cover, and roamed from room to room, looking for Jack. They found him upstairs, scanning the sky with binoculars. A sandy-haired officer greeted them, but Rose said that they were there for Captain Jack. The officer shrugged and gestured towards the window. Jack turned around and gave them the once over, then smiled and nodded at the Doctor, and grinned at Rose. 

"Ladies, you're looking for me? My reputation precedes me."

At that, the Doctor laughed and Rose giggled. Jack raised his eyebrows. 

"We've heard… we've heard you know how to show a lady a good time," Rose says, sidling up next to him and taking hold of his arm. 

The blonde officer rolled his eyes and shook his head on his way across the hall to the upstairs bar. 

The Doctor approached from the other side, and said, "We'd like to have a good time together, Jack." 

"Is…is that right?" Jack said, for once almost losing his equilibrium. 

"Would you like to dance with us? Somewhere a bit more private?" said Rose, fluttering her eyelashes at him. 

He nodded, and let Rose lead him away from the window. 

"There are some smaller rooms down the hallway," Jack said suggestively. "If you'd care to follow me?" Jack walked down the hallway with Rose on one arm and the Doctor somewhat awkwardly on the other. The third sitting room they came to was empty, and small enough to be cosy. 

"Here we are, ladies," he said, ushering them inside. 

"You won't be needing your great coat in here," the Doctor said. 

"We'll keep you warm," said Rose, trailing her fingers up Jack's shirt. 

"I think you will at that," said a flushed Jack Harkness, who stepped towards a large, upholstered leather chair and shrugged out of his coat, tossing it in the chair. A moment later, Jack was startled by the sound of a jet injector, and looked down to see the Doctor withdrawing the device from his arm, somehow managing to look pleased and apologetic simultaneously. 

"Sorry, Jack! Not to worry, you'll be fine."

They maneuvered him into a chair and the Doctor caught him when he lurched forward, and they waited. Two minutes later, he gasped and returned to consciousness. 

"All right, Javik?" Rose asked anxiously. 

"Yeah, I think so … Wait, I know you!" he exclaimed, pointing at Rose. He turned and looked at the Doctor. "Who are you?" 

"Hello! I'm the Doctor," she said, giving a little wave. 

Javik's eyes grew wide and he tried to stand up. 

The Doctor gently but firmly made him sit down again. 

"I heard you were looking for me. Well, you found me. What can I do for you?" 

"I'm not looking for you, the Time Agency is. A fine point, maybe, but you just gotta know it's not personal! It has to do with you trying to change a fixed point in time."

"Javik, I have no idea what you're on about."

"Would you be willing to sign a sworn statement to that effect?" 

"Yes," said the Doctor firmly. 

Javik narrowed his eyes. "What about a polygraph test?" 

"And you'll deliver them to the Time Agency?" Rose interrupted. 

He nodded slowly. "All right." 

The Doctor nodded back. "We just need to take care of the Chula ambulance you were going to try to sell us first. No! Don't deny it, you'll just make yourself look stupid."

"But it's harmless!" said Javik. 

"Oh, not this again," said Rose, talking to the Doctor over his head. 

"Look, we'll explain on the way," the Doctor said, pulling Javik to his feet. 

By the time they reached Lime Green Station, they had given Javik the short version. They crouched down by the same crates and parcels they'd used as concealment the first time around. 

The guard nearest to them wasn't Algy, the guard Captain Jack had distracted in the prime universe, but a tall, dark-haired fellow. 

"Do you know him?" said Rose, looking at Javik. 

"Yes. His name is Colin. Unfortunately, he's very straight and narrow," Javik replied. 

"Right," said Rose, standing up and shrugging out of the Doctor's uniform coat, "I'll distract him. My wiles certainly are getting a workout tonight," she said brightly. 

"You know what Mae West said," the Doctor remarked as she caught her coat and put one hand on Rose's shoulder. "Where there's a wile, there's a way. Well, no. But she should've said it. Would've suited her."

Javik looked at her like she'd lost her mind, but Rose just looked at her wife and shook her head, and the Doctor leaned in and kissed her. 

"For luck," she grinned. 

Rose grinned back and walked quickly towards Colin, red dress fluttering in the cold breeze.

"She's something else," said Javik, staring after her. "I hope you know how lucky you are."

"I'm the luckiest woman in this Universe or any other," said the Doctor gratefully. 

The two of them watched as Rose gestured away from them, and amazingly, both Colin and the other guard in the tiny guardhouse looked and pointed that way, then Colin gave Rose his coat and he and the other guard started walking in the direction of Albion Hospital. 

Rose came back a little way and gave the all clear sign. 

"How in the world did you get them to leave their posts?" said Javik in surprised admiration. 

"I told them my boyfriend had taken his coat back and gone off with another girl," Rose grinned. 

"Well done, Rose!" the Doctor enthused. "All right, come on, they won't be gone long."

The three of them ran to the other end of the old station, where a mauve cylinder lay partially covered by earth. There was a keypad on the side of the cylinder, and the Doctor aimed her sonic at it, its blue tip pulsing with a sound suggestive of angry insects. The keypad sparked violently. 

"Was that supposed to happen?" said Rose anxiously. 

The Doctor turned and smiled. "Not to worry, Rose."

Rose and Javik laughed, looking relieved. 

"I've just set off the master alarm, and summoned the gas-mask zombies," she said, sounding pleased with herself. 

"What? You set it off on purpose?" Javik said in disbelief. 

Rose, who was much more accustomed to the Doctor's dramatics, held up her hand for calm. "And when they arrive here, then what? Does this have something to do with the package you picked up on Chula?" 

The Doctor looked a bit put out at having her surprise spoiled, but she nodded, and pulled a small cylinder out of her coat pocket that looked like a tiny Chula medical transport with a lot of added decoration. 

"These are nanogenes — very similar to the ones that escaped this ship when it crashed, but much more advanced, and unlike those, these ones are familiar with humans."

"You're going to email them an upgrade!" exclaimed Rose. 

Javik looked between the Doctor and Rose as if watching a tennis match. 

"In a manner of speaking, yes," said the Doctor. "As soon as the zombies — sorry, the modified humans — come to the fence there, I'm going to open this cylinder and release enough nanogenes to make a quick update."

"Here they come, Doctor," said Rose, nodding towards the far fence. 

The Doctor tried to twist the lid off of the Chula cylinder, and failing that, she used her sonic to pop the lid off. She handed the cylinder to Javik and raised her hands to shoulder height. She nodded at Rose, who also raised her hands, as bright amber lights swirled around both of them like intentional fireflies. 

The zombies knocked the gate down, advancing quickly, a small child in the lead, and the Doctor and Rose drew back their hands and flung them forward. The nanogenes flew through the air and, to Javik's amazement, were intercepted by more amber lights swirling around the former humans. 

The zombies collapsed in a wave like falling dominoes. The amber lights continued to flux over their bodies for a few seconds, then withdrew. The bodies moved, and Javik drew his blaster. 

But the bodies that stood up were human, and even the older ones were spry for their age. Rose recognized Dr. Constantine among them, looking as confused as any of them. 

The small figure at the front of the crowd was struggling to get out of his gas mask. The Doctor strode forward to help him, but before she could reach him, a young woman with dark pigtails and well-patched clothes ran over to him. 

"Jamie!" she cried out. 

He stopped struggling and waited, and she knelt in front of him and removed his mask, revealing a boy with tousled blonde hair, smiling. She hugged him close and wept.

Rose caught up with the Doctor, and they gave the young woman and the boy a minute for their reunion. But then the Doctor put her hand on the girl's shoulder. 

"Nancy? That is your name, isn't it?" 

Nancy looked up at the Doctor in surprise. 

"Lucky guess, really," the Doctor said brightly. "I'm good with names! I'm sorry to interrupt, but we need to move everyone out of this area before a German bomb falls on it. 

"Who are you?" said Nancy, sniffling and hanging on to Jamie with one arm. 

"Oh, sorry! I'm the Doctor, and this is Rose Tyler, and that over there is Javik Thane."

"I'm Nancy. And this is my little brother, Jamie."

"Pleased to meet you," said Rose, shaking hands with Nancy and Jamie. 

Javik came trotting up. "Doctor, we only have about fifteen minutes before the bomb hits."

"Right, if you could help clear the area, Javik," the Doctor said, "And we'll be right along."

He went off shouting at the confused crowd to head towards Albion Hospital as fast as they could manage. 

"Nancy," Rose said slowly, "Do you still have your parents?" 

Nancy shook her head. 

"It's tough out on the street. Family is important, and a boy needs his mummy. Why don't you adopt Jamie? Become his legal mother." 

Nancy looked at Jamie's hopeful face, and nodded. "Yes, I think I will."

Rose helped them up, then guided them out of the compound, the Doctor right behind them. 

The time travelers and Nancy, and the entire legion of former zombies, holed up in Albion Hospital, waiting for the bomb to fall. They didn't have long to wait. Less than two minutes after the last of them got inside, a large explosion rocked the very foundation of the hospital. They looked out windows to see the smoking crater where the Chula ambulance had been, moments before. 

The Doctor and Rose and Javik took their leave and started walking back to the TARDIS, stashed safely in a nearby alley. 

"Well, here we are!" said the Doctor. "Javik, I believe you have a statement for me to sign?" 

He held up a pen, and the Doctor took it and signed it in light in the air. 

"And the polygraph I was promised?" he said. 

"Go ahead."

Javik took another pen-like device out of his coat pocket and held it next to the Doctor.

"What is your name," Javik asked.

"The Doctor," she replied. "Technically, that's not my name, but it's what I've been called for centuries, and isn't self-determination in naming yourself more important than what some stuffy Time Lord says?" Javik raised an eyebrow at this, but continued his questioning. 

"How old are you?" 

"Ooh… I've lost track! How old am I, Rose? Nine hundred and seven, maybe?" the Doctor struggled. Rose laughed. 

"These are supposed to be baseline questions, Doctor!" Javik groused. "I'm starting over."

"You're called the Doctor, is that correct?" 

"Yes."

"What is your ship called?" 

"The TARDIS," the Doctor replied confidently. 

Javik thought for a moment, then asked, "Do you love Rose Tyler?" 

"More than anything," the Doctor grinning like an idiot. 

Rose interrupted the proceedings to kiss her wife. 

Javik couldn't help smiling at them. He gave them a moment, then cleared his throat.

"Doctor, were you involved in an attempt to change a fixed point in time on November 21, 2059 on Mars?"

"No. I have no idea what you're talking about," the Doctor frowned. 

"All right, that's it!" said Javik, clicking the pen-like device again and looking at the digital readout. "The polygraph says you're telling the truth. I'll take this and your signed statement to the Time Agency. Hopefully they'll get off your back after that."

"Thanks, Javik," the Doctor said. "You're a match for our Captain Jack, any time."

"You know, about that — I quite liked being Captain Jack Harkness. Maybe I'll hang onto that name."

Rose and the Doctor looked at each other in surprise, then smiled and looked back at the new Jack Harkness. 

"Suits you," said the Doctor, shaking his hand. 

Rose stepped up and planted a kiss on his cheek. 

"Thanks Jack," she said, leaving him with a bemused grin as she and the Doctor turned to open the TARDIS door. 

"Take good care of each other," Jack said. "Or I will!" he added with a crooked grin. 

The Doctor rolled her eyes. "Jack!" she scolded mildly. 

"Now that sounds like our Jack," Rose laughed. "Don't hold your breath," she teased. 

Captain Jack Harkness stepped back and saluted them both. The Doctor unlocked the TARDIS, and they went inside, shutting the door behind them. 

The Doctor flew around the console, seating sliders, turning the hourglass over, pulling levers, and setting the little crystal TARDIS model spinning counter-clockwise, flipping switches, and pushing the handle that would send them into the Vortex. The TARDIS dematerialized.

Without missing a beat, Rose reached down for the custard cream dispensed by the console and handed it to her wife, who beamed at her and took it. 

The Doctor popped it into her mouth, munching happily, and put her arm around her. 

"So, Rose Tyler. Where to now?" 

"That's easy," Rose smiled. "All of time and space."

The Doctor lit up like a child at Christmas, and thought for a moment, then began inputting their next destination.

"In that case, we'd better get started," she said, and leaned over to plant an enthusiastic kiss on her wife's lips. 

Rose and her Doctor were finally reunited in the TARDIS, on their way to their next adventure, just as it should be. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be sure to check out [nowrunalong's fantabulous full artwork!](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25942453)

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on Tumblr as @onthedriftinthetardis - come say hi if you like! :))

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[Art] Persistence of Memory](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25942453) by [angelandfaith (nowrunalong)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nowrunalong/pseuds/angelandfaith)




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